Alive
by Scooby Wannabe
Summary: X-Over w/ Harry Potter. After Buffy Summers sacrifices herself for her sister, her friends decide to bring her back. But they get much more than they bargained for. Secret lives and worlds come to life with three very different people.*SPOILERS FOR OotP*
1. Fall From Grace

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon and lots of people I have nothing to do with them. Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, who is a wonderful Scottish goddess I know nothing about.  
  
Specifically, this chapter and the ones following it come mainly from the episodes Bargaining, Part One and Two, Afterlife, and Flooded. They were written by lovely people who are not me. Those specific episodes WILL BE SPOILED!!!  
  
A/N: Something that's been bouncing around in my head for about a month. It's pretty straightforward with the events from BTVS, except that once the group completes the spell, things get AU very quickly. As far as HP goes, I know that Harry was supposed to be born in 1980 and that everything followed accordingly, placing OotP in 1995-96. Guess what? I CHANGED IT. I've moved everything back by five years. Deal.  
  


The gangs in their sixth year…uh…I know I said I wouldn't do this till Nuvalmet Lain was done.  Well, it _is_ done on my computer, sorta.  I'm just dragging it out so I can get things like The Fellowship of the Ring stuff and The Two Tower stuff ready.  I'm evil, I know.  But would you guys rather have a chapter a week or wait about six months for me to finish everything and post in one big splat.  Realizing that this is Alive and has nothing to do with Nuvalmet Lain, I stop rambling and cry, "Onwards!"

  
**WARNING!!!** THIS STORY CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. CONTINUE AT YOUR OWN RISK.  
  
  
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The cemetery was creepy at night. Okay, so that was a no-brainer. What cemetery wouldn't be creepy at night? Especially when they were here to do what they were here to do.  
  
"Does everybody have their candles?" Willow Rosenberg asked the three people huddled around the gravestone. The young twenty-year-old witch looked especially freaksome that night in her long black dress, cradling the Urn of Osiris reverently against her.  
  
"I'm trying, my lighter won't stay lit," Anya Emerson replied tensely, flicking her lighter repeatedly to no avail.  
  
Willow shifted anxiously in front of the headstone. "Well, hurry, it has to--"  
  
"What time is it?" Tara Maclay interrupted, striving to remain calm.  
  
Xander Harris glanced at the watch on his left wrist. "A minute till midnight."  
  
"C'mon, Anya, do you have it?" Willow asked urgently.  
  
Finally one flick ignited a small feeble flame. "I got it," Anya said, tilting the lighter to her candle. "I got it. I got it."  
  
"Okay," Willow told the group, ever the instructor. "Start the circle. Now."  
  
They all four knelt down: Willow at the foot of the grave, Tara on her left, Xander and Anya on her right. Tara, Xander, and Anya all held lit black candles before them. Willow held the Urn of Osiris in front of her with her left hand, pouring a thick red fluid into it with her left. Xander and Tara exchanged nervous glances as Willow finished. The redheaded witch looked up at the headstone before her.   
  
_**BUFFY ANNE SUMMERS  
  
1981-2001  
  
BELOVED SISTER  
DEVOTED FRIEND  
  
SHE SAVED THE WORLD  
A LOT.**_  
  
"Osiris," Willow began, becoming very serious and focused, letting the magic hearken to her. "Keeper of the gate, master of all fate, hear us."  
  
Willow paused, dipping her finger into the Urn. It came out covered in the red substance which looked suspiciously like blood. She used her finger to run three lines of the red liquid over her face: a straight vertical line in the middle of her forehead and a slanted line on the cheek underneath each eye. The dark red fluid made a stark contrast to the girl's fair complexion, giving her a dangerous glow. Tara watched her girlfriend nervously. Anya looked down, unable to mask her fear.  
  
"Before time and after, before knowing and nothing," Willow continued, turning the Urn in her hand and pouring the rest of the substance onto the grave. "Accept our offering. Know our prayer."  
  
Suddenly, as if an invisible force had pushed her, Willow jerked back, arms held outwards, panting. Deep, ugly cuts suddenly sliced in her pale exposed forearms.  
  
"Willow!" Xander shouted frantically, starting towards his oldest friend.  
  
"No!" Tara yelled at him quickly, motioning with her hand for him to stop. "She t…she told me…she'd be tested. This…this is what's supposed to happen."  
  
"Osiris!" Willow continued more forcefully. "Here lies the warrior of the people. Let her cross over."  
  
As soon as the words left her mouth she winced in pain. The blood from her wounds dripped down her arms as large bubbles began to move upward from them.  
  
Xander watched in horror. "She needs help!"  
  
"Xander, she's strong!" Tara insisted. Xander and Anya both looked to her doubtfully. "She said not to stop, no matter what. If we b-break the cycle now, it's over."  
  
Willow gasped in pain as the previously silent night erupted into loud rumbling.  
  


Anya looked up in fear. "Oh god, what is that noise?"  
  
"Osiris, let her cross over!" Willow shouted, then gasped sharply, vocally choking on something as the bubbles in her skin worked to her throat.   
  
"Willow!" Xander shouted.  
  
"Willow!" Tara repeated, terrified for her girlfriend.  
  
The three watched in concern and terror as the young witch gagged. Willow broke her long-held stance of wide open arms and reached for her throat, clawing at it.  
  
"Oh, my god, oh, my god," Tara gasped in fear.  
  
Willow released her neck and, still choking, fell on her hands, mouth open as if retching. Tara screamed, watching in abject horror.  
  
Willow continued to gag as, ever so slowly, a snake started to slither and writhe its way out of her mouth. She grasped at the soft grass on the ground as it slowly made its way out of her mouth and to the earth.  
  
Xander shifted, torn between helping his friend and following her instructions. Anya was terrified, glancing back and forth between Xander and Tara, looking to them for her cue. Tara stared at Willow hopelessly, muttering to herself. "It's a test. It's a test. Willow…"  
  
Then the snake was out.  
  
Willow remained hunched over for a few moments, panting and gasping at what had happened to her.  
  
Then the magic intensified.  
  
Pure magic enveloped Willow as she snapped back up, surrounding the redhead. It appeared as if a column of fire and energy.  
  
Xander sprang into action, holding his candle in his left hand and grabbing for Tara with his right. He pulled the blonde witch to him and Anya and the three huddled together, staring as Willow focused all the magic around her at the grave.  
  
"Osiris, release her!" Willow shouted, the magic swirled around her.  
  
Suddenly, the loud rumbling grew louder and the Buffybot ran out of the forest behind Tara. "Willow! I need service!"  
  
Tara, Xander, and Anya turned to the robot. The Buffybot looked over her shoulder at the loud rumbling.  
  
"Ooh!" the robot muttered before picking her way carefully behind the three frightened people.  
  
Then all hell broke lose.  
  
Demons on motorcycles burst into the clearing, wielding all manner of makeshift weaponry. Several moved to the robot, trapping her off to the side. The ones remaining circled the grave and the four would-be resurrectors.  
  
Anya yelped, dropping her candle. Xander abandoned all pretense and dropped his own candle, grabbing Tara and Anya and pulling them up, clutching them close.  
  
"Willow!" Tara shouted frantically, her candle falling to the ground as the demons circled the redheaded witch.  
  
The three were so panicked, they didn't notice that their candles' flames didn't wink out, but actually grew brighter.  
  
Willow was oblivious to everything around her, focusing solely on the task at hand.  
  
Then the worst happened.  
  
A demon ran over the Urn of Osiris with his bike, smashing it to pieces.  
  
Several things happened in just a few moments.  
  
The magic gathered, then whooshed into the earth.  
  
"No!" Willow howled, then collapsed to the ground, unconscious.  
  
Tara rushed forward to the witch, screaming, "Willow!"  
  
She was cut off by a biker-demon, who smiled at her viciously. "Look what I found!"  
  
The demon was cut off as a naked body fell from the sky and landed on top of him.  
  
The body, bruised from the sudden impact with the demon, rolled over onto the ground right next to Anya's abandoned candle.  
  
Tara, acting on impulse, grabbed it and pulled it back with her to safety beside Anya and Xander. One look downwards confirmed that the body was not Buffy, unless they had horribly messed up the spell and grew the Slayer a third leg.  
  
Anya and Xander were staring at the grave. Tara followed their gazes. Right next to hers and Xander's candles were two very naked bodies.  
  
The demons stared at the bodies, spooked.  
  
"Magic!" one of them shouted.  
  
Another snarled, turning his attention to the Buffybot. "Get the robot and go!"  
  
Xander saw the opportunity. He rushed forward, sliding to the ground next to Willow and throwing her over his shoulder. Then his conscious started gnawing at him. He turned and scooped the nearest naked body up and over his free shoulder, then looked to the girls. "Take off! Go! Go!"  
  
Tara turned and handed off the man in her arms to Anya. Anya staggered at the sudden weight while Tara grabbed the remaining body. Dragging it none-too-gently, she stumbled for the woods, glancing up to see Anya juggling the body in her arms. "Anya, come on!"  
  
Anya grunted and, with loud noises of effort, dragged the man over the unconscious demon and followed Tara into the woods. Thankfully, the demons did not follow.  
  
Xander sighed in relief as he turned and made for the opposite end of the woods. Once he was a good distance away from the chaos, he stopped, lowering Willow and the strange naked body to the ground as gently as he could.  
  
The strange naked body turned out to be a strange naked woman. A woman with red hair and pale skin that looked remarkably like his Willow. She appeared to be around their age, maybe a year or two older. But besides the uncanny resemblance to the witch on the ground, she was a stranger.  
  
Willow stirred, regaining a small bit of consciousness.  
  
Xander noticed this. "Willow? Willow, you okay?"  
  
The witch looked up at him, panting weakly. "Did it work?"  
  
Xander hesitated a moment, then shook his head. "I'm sorry."  
  
Willow's eyes rolled back as she passed out completely.  
  
Xander sighed, looking around as the sounds of chaos blared around him. The fact was that he was in a clearing with two redheads, one that was naked and a stranger, one an exhausted witch, both which were very passed out.  
  
He couldn't know that one had been very dead until recently. And that deep beneath him, one more dead soul was returning to earth.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
What do you guys think? Has this been done? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.  
  
THAT MEANS REVIEW! :)


	2. Seperated By Space

A/N:  YAY! You like it! This is very good. Sorry about the delayed update, but school started last week and I was kinda busy. Things'll be a little hectic, but I'm trying to hurry. Let me know what you guys think of this one.

The time period is October 1, 2001.  As I moved everything back five years, it is now October of Harry & Co.'s sixth year.  And no, the redhead isn't Ginny Weasley.  Ginny's not dead!  Unless I really missed something…

Also, yes, we will be going to Hogwarts at some point.  Umm…that's about it.

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Xander stumbled through the forest, trying very hard not to drop Willow or the strange woman who was wearing only the coat that he had slung around her naked body.  He didn't know how long he could keep this up, carrying two full-grown women through the night.  Miraculously, just when he thinks he can take it no more, the body over his right shoulder stirs and moans softly.

Xander stopped, kneeling down to let the two women slide to the ground.  The strange woman who had appeared out of thin air in the middle of the chaos rolled to the ground like a rag doll.  Willow, though, steadied herself against the tree Xander leaned her against.

The witch looked up at her oldest friend, confused and disoriented.  "Xander.  Xander, where…where--"

"Shh-shh-shh-shh-shush!" Xander quieted her quickly.  "We're using our quiet voice, Will."

"Wh-wh-where's Tara?" Willow asked, much more quietly.

"Off and running, like we need to be," Xander explained quickly.  "We gotta keep moving."

"Okay," Willow mumbled, panting shallowly.  Then she came to a bit more, remembering the night's events.  "Oh…right.  Demons…on bikes."

"Yeah, we got trouble," Xander muttered in agreement.  "Right here in Hellmouth City.  Our very own roboBuffy led them right to us."

"Buffy," Willow murmured, sitting up suddenly.  "The ritual!  We have to go back."

Xander grabbed her, effectively stopping her.  "Will.  I told you."

"No, we have to try again," Willow protested.

Xander shook his head.  "No, we can't."

"We have to, Xander!" Willow hissed, a far off look in her eye.  "She-she's waiting!  She's counting on us, on-on me!  I can't leave her there anymore.  I won't.  We have to finish."

"Shh!" Xander shushed, holding a finger to his lips, a bike roaring in the distance.  He glanced over his shoulder as it faded away, then turned back to the exhausted redhead.  "Will.  The Urn of Cirrhosis…"

"Osiris?" Willow supplied.

"Yeah," Xander said hurriedly.  "It got kind of--"

"Broken," Willow murmured.  "It's broken.  I remember."

"So we'll find another one," Xander told her, trying to comfort.  "Better-made.  Anya and I will jump back on the web--"

"There is no other one," Willow replied softly, looking as though she had been broken along with the Urn.

"Okay, we'll fix this one," Xander suggested desperately.  "A little tape, a dab of Crazy Glue--"

"No," Willow replied dead-panned.  "It's no use.  The Urn's defiled."

She looked up at Xander, tears welling up in her eyes.  "It's gone.  Nothing, it was all for nothing.  Buffy's gone.  She's really gone."

Xander ran a hand along the side of Willow's face before pulling her into a hug.  "I'm sorry, Will."

Willow buried herself in Xander, leaning her cheek against his chest.  That's when she noticed they weren't alone.  She pulled away from Xander, staring at the unconscious woman rolled up in Xander's jacket.  "Who's she?"

~~~~

Anya and Tara stumbled into the Magic Shop, each awkwardly lugging a naked man along with them.  Strangely enough, in all the chaos, a panicking woman had still had the time to stop panicking and yell at them for having the indecency to bring men out in public like that.

As soon as they were inside, Tara laid the man she was dragging on the ground, and bolted the door behind them.  She then jumped over the body and sprinted around the shop.  "Willow, Xander!"

Tara headed for the back room as Anya pulled the man she was carrying into the room by his arms.  She then dropped him roughly, looking around the shop herself.

Tara reappeared, looking worried.  "They're not here."

"Thank god," Anya said.

Tara looked at the ex-demon incredulously.  Anya looked properly flustered.  "No, I mean, my store hasn't been looted."

Suddenly, a loud banging noise sounded from outside.  They both turned to look.  Tara shuddered.  "Yet."

Anya looked down at the floor where they had left the two naked men.  "What should we do with them?"

"I don't know," Tara replied anxiously.  She dropped to her knees between the two men, examining both closely.  "You don't know them do you?"

"Hmm," Anya murmured, kneeling beside Tara.  She, too examined the men.  

One was older, probably in his mid-thirties, though he looked like he had been aged by something very traumatic.  His skin was a sallowy kind of yellow, as if he had been sick, though it looked like he had been well on his way to recovery.  His hair was long and black, falling to his shoulders.  His form had the look of one that had been very broad and strong once, then withered, then nearly fixed.

The younger man looked to be a little older than them.  He was built smaller than the older man, though, because of very good health, was currently a bit bigger.  His hair was long for a man's, but definitely not as long as the older man's.  It was also very messy.

"Don't look like any faces I've ever seen before," Anya murmured as she looked them over.  Then, to Tara's utmost horror, she turned her very close study a bit south.  "And I've definitely not had orgasms with these penises."

"Anya!" Tara hissed in shock.

"They're very nice ones," Anya appraised seriously.  "I think I could have orgasms with them."

"Give me your jacket!" Tara said shrilly as she removed her own jacket.

Even with them men's smaller forms, there was no way that either jacket would go around them, or cover that much for that matter.  So, as tactfully as she could, Tara spread her jacket over the smaller man's lower regions, doing the same to the older man with Anya's jacket.

Having made the two, well, _more_ decent, Tara sat back, gazing at the unconscious pair.  "I don't know them either."

"Are they alive?" Anya asked nervously, biting at the corner of her mouth.

Tara grabbed at the older man's wrist.  After a moment, she dropped it and repeated the process with the younger man.  She sighed.  "Yes, they're alive.  They seem to be healthy, besides a few bruises from their fall."

Anya bit her lip in deep concentration for a moment, then smacked the younger man lightly on the face. "Wake up!"

Tara sighed in concern.  "I don't think that'll work."

Then there was a distinct explosion from outside.

"Oh, god."

Together, both girls ran up to the windows.  Peeking outside carefully, they both could only watch in fear as a group of demons broke into the store across the street, looting and setting fire to it.  Screams could be heard from unseen people as god-knew-what was being done to them.

Anya sighed softly.  "Oh, Xander."

"They're all right," Tara muttered, more to herself than Anya.

"Where are they?" Anya asked, her voice rising in panic.  "Why aren't they here?"

"I don't know," Tara said, slightly aggravated.

"They could be hurt," Anya murmured, wringing her hands.  "Xander could be lying somewhere broken and bleeding, calling out my name."

Tara sighed.  "Anya…"

"Like that, oh god!" Anya continued, unfazed.  "What if, what if they're really hurt, what if they're dead?"

"They're not," Tara replied firmly.

"How do you know?" Anya asked.

"Because he's with Willow," Tara explained softly.  "And if something…happened, I'd know.  And so would you."

Anya hesitated for a moment, unsure.  "You think?"

"I'm sure of it," Tara told the other woman, pulling her into a comforting ambrace.  She stroked the ex-demon's hair lightly.  "They're fine.  They're both fine."

As Anya calmed, Tara's mind wandered.  A moment later, she pulled back from Anya, her eyes thoughtful.  "Maybe they got lost, in the woods."

"The woods?" Anya repeated, the note of panic returning to her voice.  "Are we going back to the woods?  I hate the woods.  All those woodsy trees."

"No, it's okay," Tara replied, becoming excited.  "Lost is good.  Willow and I always know how to find each other!"

The young woman ran to the table that was piled high with books.  In one swift sweep of her arm, she pushed all of the musty tomes off the table, sending them sailing.  One particularly large volume flew right onto the older man's head.

"Tara!" Anya shouted, kneeling next to the man to check for any sign of damage.

Tara flinched.  "Oh!  Sorry!"

Tara then hopped onto the table, sat down cross-legged and put her hands on her knees.

Anya watched all this in confusion.  "You're gonna find them with yoga?"

"Ssh!" Tara hissed, focusing all her concentration inward.  "Aradia, hear my words…"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Well, that's chapter two!  Let me know what you think.

Don't know when the next chapter will be posted but…one of our mystery men will wake up…

Please Review!


	3. Harsh Reality

A/N:  Here it is, Chapter Three! Um…sorry this was a little late. I've hit a bit of a dry spell on Nuvalmet Lain! so I've spent a little TOO much time racking my brains out for that one. Then I posted this chapter up on my yahoo!group and I sorta forgot to put it here. SO sorry.  
  
Oh, yeah, by the by, I DO have a yahoo!group. I know, it's so sad. Well, everything goes up there like a few days in advance, so join if you wanna. The address is: groups.yahoo.com/group/scooby_wannabe/  
  
Chapter Four is not up yet, though, but should be up in the very near future. Once again, sorry. 

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The first thing he noticed was that he was noticing things.  That was strange to him.  For so long, all he had done was feel.  Feel the warmth that surrounded him.  Feel the love.  Feel the yearning for loved ones left behind.

A light blazed to life above him.  It was the brightest light he'd ever seen.  It was agony.  He was lying on something hard.  Something cold.  Something very scratchy was wrapped around his hips.  It was rough.  Burning.  Everywhere else was freezing.

"Aradia, hear my words…"

Oh, someone was doing a location spell.  Grant it, he didn't hear that one a lot since it was more advanced, requiring wandless magic.  But at least he knew he was in the company of a witch.

But maybe that was bad.  They might be Death Eaters.  Oh…Harry…Death Eaters…Voldemort…after Harry.  That's the last thing he remembered.  Oh, dear lord.  What should he do?  He had to do something.

He tried to push himself up, but his arms gave out underneath him.  He groaned loudly, against all his attempts to remain silent and stealthy.

"Tara!  This one just made sounds!"

Great.  The witch was American.  That was all he needed.  A stupid American witch that said "made sounds" versus saying "groaned".

He tried to open his eyes, but the light was too bright.  He squinted against its brilliance, shivering violently at the cold that surrounded him.

"Oh, goddess, Anya, get blankets!"

Then there were hands.  Soft and warm, pulling him up.  The hands settled him in a lap that was just as warm, arms curling around his shoulders.

"I think he's in shock!"

Oh, he didn't want to be in shock.  He thought it sounded very unpleasant.

"Here, this is all we have."

Oh, that was much better.  Much warmer.  Scratchier but warmer.

"Put those around the other guy.  He's got to be as cold as this one."

Other guy?  Who is the other guy?  Was there someone else wounded?  Who?  A man?  What men had been there?

"Tara, he's cold."

He knew enough to know that wasn't good.

"Why did we wait so long to do this?  Is he alive, Anya?"

Please, let him be alive.

"Yes, he's alive."

He blinked his eyes open.  He was in the arms of a girl.  A girl with dark blonde hair.  She smiled down at him softly.  "Hey, there.  I'm Tara."

Tara.  He didn't know a Tara.  At least, he didn't think he knew a Tara.

He opened his mouth and said the first thing that came to mind.  "Where's Harry?"

Then the darkness came.


	4. The Next Step

A/N:  Here it is!  Chapter Four!  It'll be about a week before I let this go up at TtH or ff.net.  Hope you all like!

Oh, and it's been brought to my attention that, I quote "need to get on with the story, all you're doing is recaping the hole episode".  Uh…DUH!!!  Yeah, the first bit is a bit of a recap, but three people falling out of the sky is bound to change things around a bit.  Also, hello, they still have the nice pack of demons and lots of other shit to deal with.  Please understand that I am trying to take things along a logical path that will get rid of the biker demons.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, god, oh, god, oh, god, oh, god," Tara muttered over and over, wrapping the younger man in as many blankets and cloth and other things that she and Anya could find.  Anya already had hers all wrapped up like a mummy and was currently sprawled out on top of him.  "Anya, what are you doing?"

"Body heat," Anya told her, not moving at all.

Tara stared at the ex-demon before shrugging and spreading herself over top of the man she was helping.  The man beneath her was just starting to warm back up when a sharp knock sounded at the side door.

Anya looked up sharply, meeting Tara's fearful eyes with her own.  They held each other's gaze for several moments before leaping up and making for the door.

The knock came again, only this time it had transformed into a harried banging.  Anya bit her lip, wringing her hands nervously as she called out, "Already been looted, sorry!  Uh, try the appliance store down the block, they've got great toasters."

"Anya!" Xander called from behind the door in a strained voice.

Anya wrinkled her brow in confusion, groping for the lock on the door.  "Xander?"

Anya pulled the door open, then quickly backed out of the way as Xander came rushing in, the unconscious woman wrapped in his jacket cradled carefully in his arms.   Willow stumbled along behind them, completely exhausted.  Tara was immediately at her girlfriend's side, wrapping supportive arms around the frail redhead.  

Anya breathed out in relief, quickly closing and locking the door behind the trio.  She turned to Xander, enveloping him in a powerful embrace, despite the unconscious woman he was carrying.  "I knew you weren't dead."

Xander shook his head at his girlfriend, giving the ex-demon a small kiss on the head.  "Wow, then why was I so worried?"

Tara helped Willow pick her way over the two unconscious men, then settled the witch in a seat.  She smoothed out the redhead's hair, examining her with concern.  "Are you--"

"Uh, not yet," Willow murmured breathlessly as she eased into the chair with a pained expression.  "But, but I will be."

Xander pulled away from Anya and knelt on the floor, gently placing the woman next to the two men.  He sighed once the woman was settled, turning her face towards him to examine it.

She was a pretty woman, that was sure.  Her face was soft and round, skin creamy and fair.  Her hair was a deep red that lent its color to her eyebrows and thick lashes.  Her nose was small and round, like a small button.  She was easily twenty-years-old, maybe a little older, which meant if she was someone from Sunnydale, Xander should have been at school with her at some point.   She was a stranger.

Anya tapped the thoughtful man on the shoulder, breaking his train of thought.  She handed him three rough blankets that looked like they had once been the burlap packing they used to stuff crates with.  "Here, wrap her in these."

"Good," Xander replied as he started to cover the woman as best he could.  His hand accidentally brushed against the skin of her arm and he shivered.  "God, she's as cold as ice."

Tara abandoned her position behind Willow and dropped to her knees beside Xander.  She tenderly took the woman's arm, feeling for the tell-tale signs of a heart-beat.  A moment later, she sat back on her heels, looking grave but calm.  "She'll be okay.  She has a strong pulse."

"Did she wake up or anything?" Anya burst out, not able to contain herself any longer.

Xander shook his head.  "Out cold the entire time."

Willow nodded to the strange men.  "Them?"

Tara gestured to the smaller, but healthier, of the two.  "That one came to for all of five minutes."

Xander shifted to the man.  He was young, around the age of the woman.  Xander took a moment to look him over.  He would have been tall if he were standing.  He was thin, much thinner than normal, but in a healthy, lanky way.  His hair was deep black, and extremely ruffled, either naturally, from the strange fall from the sky, or from Tara and Anya dragging him through the woods.  His face was thin and his brows thick and black.  But for all his studying, Xander couldn't make out a familiar thing about the man.

With a sigh, Xander turned to Tara and Anya.  "Did he say anything?"

Tara nodded.  "He said, 'Where's Harry?' then he passed out."

Willow frowned sharply.  "Who's Harry?"

Tara shrugged.  "Didn't ask."

"I think it's him," Anya said suddenly.

Tara, Xander, and Willow all turned to Anya.  The ex-demon was staring at the older of the three stragers strangely, as if trying to recall something from a time long past.  The man was a complete stranger to the rest of them.  With long black hair and a gaunt, but strong frame, he was totally and completely unfamiliar to the Sunnydalers.

"Him?" Willow asked, craning her neck to get a better look from her position in the chair.

"Maybe," Anya answered lowly.  "I dunno.  He looks really familiar."

"Familiar?" Xander repeated with a frown, rising to his feet.

"Well, they all do," Anya explained.  "But him especially."

"Where's Dawn and Spike?" Willow asked suddenly, looking around the shop.

Tara shook her head, turning to face her girlfriend.  "We've been calling the house, but--"

"Maybe they're on their way here," Xander suggested, almost a little too hopefully.  "I mean, this place is NORAD, and we are at DefCon One."

The women all turned slowly to stare at the boy in confusion.

Xander sighed.  "Okay, I so need male friends."

"Got two potentials right here," Anya muttered bitterly.

"We have to go out and look for them," Willow declared, starting to rise to her feet.  She was stopped however when Tara returned to the redhead's side and forced the girl back down.

"There's this guy at work I kind of hit it off with," Xander told them with a small smile.  "Tito.  I mean, he seems like a good…"

He trailed off as he realized that the three girls were once again staring his way.  He shrugged sheepishly.  "You were talking about Dawn and Spike, of course."

"Um, question," Anya began tentatively, looking to Willow.  "You want us to go back out there?"

Willow shrugged.  "Well, yeah.  Uh, unless somebody's got a better idea."

"Well, um, it's just…we're minus a Buffybot," Anya pointed out.  "And, uh, Spike is missing in action somewhere with Dawn, and Giles flew away, and we have three unconscious people who appeared outta thin air and are in bad health, and, uh, well you, you're looking a little magicked-out."

"Ahn, honey, we're nearing your point, right?" Xander broke in.

"It's just, how are we supposed to fight these guys?"  Anya asked, getting everyone's attention.  "I mean, we can take a vampire or two, sure, but there's a whole cavalcade of demons out there…I mean, I think this, you know…it, it takes, um…I mean, I…we need…"

"Buffy," Xander finished.

Anya nodded.  "Buffy."

"_Buffy_," Willow spat harshly, then immediately softened, "is not coming back.  We failed."

Tara, Xander, and Anya all looked down, all three acknowledging the sad truth.  Willow sighed, pushing herself to her feet.  "So…we're it, gang.  Xander, grab the weapons.  We're gonna look for Dawn and Spike."

Xander looked down at the three people still lost to the dark void of unconsciousness.  "But what about--"

He was cut off by a sharp noise from outside.  Something between glass breaking and a shriek.

Tara shook her head.  "It isn't safe here."

"What are we gonna do carry them?" Xander asked, thoroughly frustrated.  "Leave them?  That's all the options we got.  And I gotta tell you, I feel responsible.  They fell into our spell.  We did this to them."

Tara sighed, turning to Willow.  "He has a point."

"Split up?" Anya suggested.

"A hell no to that there," Xander replied instantly.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Anya asked.

Tara sighed again.  "If we're gonna go, we should go now, they're just getting more and more worked up by the moment."

"Well, they can't keep it up forever," Xander pointed out.  "I mean, maybe they'll party themselves out, you know, tire of this place and move on."

"We can only hope," Willow muttered.

Xander shook his head.  "Okay, let's be sensible about this.  We take them through the back alleys.  Make for the house.  We don't fight unless attacked ourselves.  We can't save everyone and since these three are like this because of us, they're the ones that get saved.  Agreed?"

The girls looked at each other for a moment before nodding in unison.  "Agreed."

"I'll take Mr. Big," Xander said, grabbing for the tall skinny man.  "Tara, you take the Willow-look-alike and help support Willow too.  Ahn, you get Mr. Sickly."

"I can't carry him again," Anya complained loudly.

"I have a spell that'll make them lighter," Tara offered.

Anya glared darkly at the witch.  "You couldn't have done that when I was lugging him through the woods?"

"Sorry," Tara replied sheepishly.  "I had some things on my mind."

"Keep them warm," Willow advised.

Xander nodded, hefting the tall man over his shoulder.  "Let's go."


	5. Another Dead Person

A/N:  And, continuing with the theory that reactions would be similar to the ones that the Scoobies had when only Buffy was resurrected…here's Chapter Five!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The trip through the back alleys of Sunnydale was slow going, much slower than it would have been if it had just been the four Scoobies.  Tara and Willow led the group, Tara supporting the redheaded woman and her girlfriend.  Xander and Anya had fallen behind both carrying the men who were now as light as feathers and some sort of weapon, just in case.

Willow stumbled along, leaning heavily against Tara and staring straight ahed.  Tara glanced at Willow and sighed.  "It wasn't your fault."

Willow looked up at her girlfriend.  Tara just nodded supportively.  "We, we don't know if the spell would have worked, even if the demons hadn't--"

"It would have worked," Willow cut in knowingly.

Tara nodded, looking down.  "Well…maybe…"

Willow glanced over at the other witch as she trailed off.  "What?"

"Maybe it wasn't supposed to," Tara suggested wisely.  "I mean, those demons showing up at the exact wrong time?  These people.  Maybe we really were in over our heads.  Invoking forces that we have no right to.  Maybe the fates sent down all that destruction on us to stop us.  I mean…"

"You mean, maybe it was my fault," Willow replied.

"No," Tara reassured the girl.  "No."

They put their arms around each other and continued walking.

A few steps behind them, Xander and Anya were pseudo-arguing.

"I'm not saying we announce it this second," Anya said nonchalantly.

"Anya!" Xander hissed as he juggled the almost naked man that was propped over his shoulder.

Anya sighed.  "Well, I think it would please them to know we're engaged.  And I think Willow in particular could use a real morale-booster right now."

"Can we talk about this later?" Xander asked in frustration.

"Well, but it's just all the excuses for not telling everyone we're engaged are gone now," Anya pointed out.  "I mean, aside from hell bikers and naked people falling from the sky, there's nothing standing in our way.  This is it.  No more surprises."

Xander turned the corner and shouted in surprise.  Willow and Tara, who had been in front of them, took several steps back, staring at the sight before them.

The gang of bikers was in front of them.  And they were all very, very dead.

Anya reached out to check a particularly nasty looking biker with a spike through his chin and a two-by-four through his chest.  Xander slapped her hand away immediately.  "Watch it!"

"Oh, god," Tara murmured as she stared openmouthed at the carnage.  By the looks of it, not one biker had survived the very lethal encounter.

"How did this happen?" Willow asked in a small voice.

Anya shook her head, bewildered.  "Spike?"

"He's not this strong," Willow replied instantly.

Xander turned away from the scene.  He didn't know what had happened or who was responsible.  But he had his suspicions.  They had to get back to the Summers house.  

Xander grabbed Anya and pulled her forward as he marched through the alleys with a new, much more urgent purpose.  "Come on!"

***~~~***

"Dawn?!" Tara shouted as she pushed open the front door of the house she had been living in for several months.  Everything seemed well inside the Summers home, but they had seen no signs of Spike or Dawn from the outside.  Tara leaned Willow against the arch to the living room as she turned to the stairwell.  "Spike?!"

"Are you guys here?!" Xander yelled shifting the body he was still carrying.

"Xander?"

Xander, Tara, Willow, and Anya all swung around.  Dawn stood before them, just a few steps inside the living room.

Tara let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as she spotted both Dawn and Spike.  "Hey.  Where have you two been?  We've been everywhere looking for you."

Spike glanced up at the group of four coolly, then shifted out of the way.  Sitting on the couch, looking very dazed, was the form of the Slayer they all knew so well.

"Hey, you fixed the Buffybot," Xander said in a frustrated tone.  "She's not going to lead more biker-demons here is she?  Because out there, they're either dead or gone."

"It ain't the soddin' 'bot," Spike replied quietly.

Xander's mouth dropped open.  Tara almost dropped the unconscious woman she had been carrying.  Anya froze.  Willow stared.

Dawn watched each of her friends' reactions before noticing that they had brought three strange guests to the unexpected reunion.  "Who are they?"

"Buffy?" Willow asked, ignoring the girl's question.

"She…she's alive?" Tara breathed, staring at the Slayer in awe.

"It worked!" Anya nearly shouted.

Dawn scowled.  "What worked?"

"Huh?" Xander asked, tearing his gaze away from Buffy.

Dawn, who had yet to turn sixteen, managed to become very menacing in less than no time.  "You did this, didn't you?  What did you do?"

"A spell," Willow reassured the teen quickly.  "We did a spell."

Anya took a step forward, examining Buffy closely.  "Is she a zombie?"

"Anya!" Xander yelled at his girlfriend, grabbing her by the arm and pulling her away from the overwhelmed-looking Slayer.

"No!" Willow shouted defensively, stepping away from the support of the wall and standing on her own.  "She's normal!"

"I'm okay."

Everyone turned and stared at Buffy as she rose to her feet with a determined look.  "I'm gonna be fine.  I remember.  You brought me back."

Anya stared at the Slayer in awe.  "What was it like?"

Buffy looked down, shaking her head.  "I, I can't…"

Spike, who had been watching the scene play out from the rear of the room, was suddenly snapped to attention when he noticed Anya lower a barely clothed man to the floor.  He noticed that another man was thrown over Xander's shoulder and that Tara was supporting a strange redheaded woman.  "Who are they?"

"These are…more spells," Willow replied uncertainly.

Dawn took a few steps back and Xander and Tara gently laid the other two people, who were unconscious, to the floor.  Tara, always a mothering type, took a moment to smooth the woman's fiery red hair away from her face.  In doing so, she gave Spike and the rest of the group a clear view of her face.  To the rest of the group it meant little, but to Spike, a very large and almost more impossible shock hit him when he saw the woman.

"Bloody…" Spike breathed, stepping up a kneeling between the three strangers.  A quick look to the men confirmed his suspicions.  "Oh, hell…"

The group watched the vampire in confusion.  After a few moments of looking back and forth between Spike and the unconscious people, Dawn cleared her throat.  "Uh, Spike?"

Spike suddenly stood and turned to the young teenager.  "Dawn, bit, your sister might be tired, eh?"

Dawn shrugged and looked to Buffy.  The Slayer shifted her weight, looking even more dazed.  "Uh, yeah.  Sleep would be nice."

"Right," Willow replied, deep in thought.  "Long day.  But, Buffy…be happy."

Buffy wrinkled her brow in confusion.  Willow smiled brightly back at her.  "We got you out.  We really did it."

Buffy tried to smile, but seemed like she couldn't quite force it.  "Tired."

"Well, yeah," Anya encouraged her, a bit uncomfortable with the Slayer's grim attitude.  "I mean…jet-lag from hell has gotta be, you know, jet-lag from hell."

Buffy looked to Dawn a little helplessly.  "My room is still…"

"Yeah," Dawn confirmed with an encouraging nod.  "Yes.  It's your room."

"Nibblet, you take her," Spike urged quietly.

"Okay," Dawn agreed.  Buffy gave the group one last nod before turning and heading up the stairs.  Dawn sighed and followed.

Xander, Tara, and Anya turned to Willow expectantly.  Willow shrugged defensively.  "Well, she, she's fine!  Normal!  She used to go to bed all the time!"

Xander, Anya, and Tara turned to stare at the witch.  Willow shrugged defensively.  Xander sighed and opened his mouth to say something, when he was grabbed harshly from behind and thrown against the wall.  He was soon joined by Anya, Tara, and Willow.

Spike, the person who had done the throwing, stood before them, eyes blazing.  He rounded on Willow, grabbing the witch by the shoulders and pushing her firmy against the wall.

Willow squirmed in the vampire's grasp, near panic.  "Hey!"

"Spike!" Tara shouted, grabbing the vampire's left arm.

"You didn't tell me," Spike said in a voice full of emotion.  "You brought her back and you didn't tell me."

Willow panted, calming as she realized the reason for Spike's attack.  "Spike…I'm sorry…"

Spike's eyes narrowed as he took a menacing step forward.  "What did you do?"

"Just…we just brought her back," Tara insisted, tugging at the vampire's arm.

Spike shook his head and pushed himself away from Willow.  He walked over to the unconscious trio on the floor, gesturing at them emphatically.  "And them?  You just bring them back, too?"

Willow shrugged as she stepped away from the wall she had been shoved into.  "They, well, they kinda appeared at the end."

"You don't know what you've done, do you?" Spike asked slowly, his anger fading into some twisted form of amusement.  "You don't know who they are."

"Why don't you tell us?" Xander asked angrily, stepping close to the vampire.

"Like you told me?" Spike said, his voice now low and dangerous.  "I worked beside you all summer."

"We didn't tell you," Xander replied uncomfortably.  "It was just…we didn't, okay?"

"Listen," Spike said coolly, stepping back towards the group.  "I've figured it out.  Maybe you haven't, but I have."

Anya gave the vampire a strange look.  "What are you talking about, Spike?"

"Willow knew there was a chance that she'd come back wrong," Spike explained in a low voice, his eyes locking with Willow's.  "Huh, Red?"

Willow stepped back against the wall, looking very white.  "Spike, I--"

"So wrong," Spike interrupted easily, "that you'd have…that she would have to get rid of what came back.  And I wouldn't let her.  If any part of that was Buffy, I wouldn't let her.  And that's why she shut me out."

"What are you talking about?" Xander asked in a shaky voice.  "Willow wouldn't do that."

"Oh," Spike drawled, his eyes glinting.  "Is that right?"

"Look," Xander said pointedly.  "You're just covering.  Don't tell me you're not happy.  Look me in the eyes, and tell me when you saw Buffy alive, that wasn't the happiest moment of your entire existence."

Xander stared at the ground for a moment before looking up, his eyes meeting Xander's squarely.  In that one moment, Xander lost all certainty he had.  "Spike?"

"That's the thing about magic," Spike drawled, turning away from the group to stare at the three unconscious people on the floor.  "There's always consequences."

Spike rounded suddenly, coming a little too close to Willow.  "You know that, don't you, Red?"

"Back down, Spike," Tara whispered lowly.

Spike chuckled to himself before turning towards the other witch.  "Right, Glinda?  Looks like you already have a few."

"What do you know, Spike?" Xander asked as the vampire's gaze once again drifted towards the strangers on the floor.

Spike smirked and walked back over to the strangers.  He gestured towards the older man and shrugged.  "I don't know about him, but those other two have been dead for nearly fifteen years."

"They're supposed to be dead?" Anya asked in shock.

Spike shot her a withering look.  "Think about it, _Anyanka_.  I bet you'll figure it out soon enough."

Anya looked at the vampire in confusion.  "What?"

"I know about you," Spike said in a low, threatening tone.  "You should know about them."

Anya wrapped her arms around herself and what Spike, frightened.  Spike just continued to shake his head.  "You really botched this one, eh, Red?"

He stepped out of the room, and started to leave.  "Consequences.  Always!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N:  Yay!  Well, that about does it for entire chapters remaining _REALLY _similar to the canon events.  No, this doesn't mean that chapters will no longer have dialogue from Season Six episodes (that lasts through Giles telling off Willow) but things get a little bit original after this.  So one more time…Yay!

Oh, next time…all three unconscious people wake up (and remain awake till bedtime)…

Review!


	6. Why Am I Alive?

A/N:  Sorry this took a little while.  I'll try to do better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning found Xander, Anya, Willow, and Tara once again in the living room.  They stood over the three still unconscious strangers.  Xander, Anya, Willow, and Tara had really had their work cut out for them the night before trying to take care of the three people.  It had been quite the task getting the three people into some spare clothes.  While Xander's donated clothing was plenty large enough for the two men, wrestling them into it had been a chore.  But, finally, Xander, Tara, and Willow had gotten the men into pairs of boxers, stretchy sweat pants, and t-shirts.  Putting the woman in Willow's clothes was much easier.  They were exactly the same size, so they put her in one of Willow's old flannel pajama sets.  After the four Scoobies had dressed the strangers, they made up makeshift beds for them on the floor of the living room with a number of spare blankets and pillows.

Xander and Anya stayed the night at the Summers home, which was literally filled beyond capacity.  The newly resurrected Slayer retreated to her room.  Dawn did the same, though Anya stayed with her.  Willow and Tara stayed in their room while Xander made do downstairs on the couch in the living room, watching over their "guests".

Morning came all too soon.  Xander awoke to the smell of cooking bacon wafting in from the kitchen.  He blinked several times, trying to wake himself up, then rose to his feet, stretching his arms up over his head.

Tara looked down at the three strangers then sighed.  "Who do you think they are?"

Xander shrugged and looked at Willow.  Willow glanced at both Tara and Xander, then all three turned to stare at Anya.  After a few moments of silence while Anya gazed down at the strangers, she finally felt the weight of her three friends stares.  She looked up at them sharply then took a step back, holding her hands out in defense.  "Don't look at me!  I don't know!  Spike's on crack."

"What are you guys doing?"

The four Scoobies turned to find Buffy standing behind them.  She was standing behind the group in a white blouse and jeans, holding a coffee mug and looking a little awkward.  Dawn was a few steps behind her sister, looming a bit protectively.

Willow's eyes went big at the sight of her friend.  "Buffy!  You're not supposed to be up."

"How, how are you feeling?" Tara asked, concerned.  "Are you okay?"

Buffy nodded slowly, turning away from her friends.  She looked down at the people on the floor and frowned.  "Who are they?"

"Well, um, _they_ would be more dead people," Willow explained in a small voice.  "That we accidentally raised along with you."

"Well, this is classic," Anya huffed slightly, rolling her eyes.  "Typical Willow blunder.  We ask her to resurrect one dead person…AND SHE RESURRECTS FOUR!"

"I don't understand how it could have gone wrong," Willow said in a dark pouting voice.  "I mean, we used the words 'she' and 'her'.  Half the people we raised, not shes or hers."

"Well, there was a person raised for all of us," Tara tried to rationalize.  "And we asked for the warrior of the people to be raised.  Maybe…these are the people?"

"Bet they're more warriors, not people," Dawn said quietly as she took a few steps into the room.  "Or…you know what I mean."

"Wouldn't it be easier to ask them?" Buffy pointed out quietly.

Willow turned to the Slayer and gave a sheepish sort of shrug.  "Well, apparently they don't spring back from the dead like you do."

Buffy nodded solemnly.  "Oh."

"Did you try this?" Dawn asked kneeling down next to the younger man with messy hair.  She ran a hand tenderly down the side of his face.  "Time to wake up."

Xander looked like he was trying not to roll his eyes.  "Dawn, I don't think that's going to--"

"Go 'way, Lil," the man muttered, shifting away from Dawn.

Dawn smiled proudly, then started to rub the man's back through Xander's t-shirt.  "C'mon, mister, rise 'n shine."

The man's hazel eyes blinked open.  He yawned and rolled back towards Dawn.  Then he sat up quickly, squinting at the young brunette beside him.  "Who are you?"

Dawn grinned widely.  "I could ask you the same question."

The man continued to squint, his gaze shooting around the room.  Finally he turned back to Dawn, squinting at her warily.  "James."

"Well, then, James, I'm Dawn," Dawn replied, trying to keep her voice as soothing as possible.  "Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

James ignored the girl's question as he felt around the wooden floor curiously.  "Where am I?"

"You're at our house," Dawn answered easily.

Seeing the man's confusion, Willow clarified.  "In Sunnydale."

"C-California," Tara added.

"America," Anya continued, having noticed the man's accent.  "I think this one's from the land of Giles."

"America," James mumbled, looking down at his hands.  "I'm alive?"

"Uh, yeah," Xander replied uneasily.  "But you're not supposed to be."

James looked up and squinted at the group surrounding him.  "Who are you people?"

"We're the good guys," Tara replied soothingly, kneeling down next to Dawn.  "We brought you back."

"Brought back?" James repeated, confused.

Anya nodded.  "Yeah, you and those two."

"Those…" James trailed off.

Dawn pointed.  James squinted after her hand.  Eventually, his gaze rested on the man sleeping fitfully next to him.  He stared at the man a few moments, as if trying to remember.  Then he suddenly jerked.  "SIRIUS!!!"

The older man's eyes flew open as he quickly sat up.  "What?  Huh?  I didn't do it!"

"Bloody hell, you two, I'm trying to sleep over here," the woman mumbled, rolling away from the commotion the two men were making.

"Sorry, Lily," the older man replied, relaxing a bit.  An instant later, he was on his feet, staring at the woman in shock.  "LILY?!"

"For the love of Merlin, I'm…" the woman started angrily, sitting up with her finger in the air, as if to put the man in his place.  She trailed off, though, then looked down at herself.  "I'm alive."

"I noticed," the older murmured in awe.  Then he looked down at himself.  "Hey, I'm alive."

"Aren't you supposed to be?" James asked, squinting hard at the two voices he seemed to recognize.

"Well, no," Sirius replied, turning to stare at the younger man.  "Oh, god…James!"

James smiled broadly as Sirius crossed the small space between them and threw his arms around the younger man.  A second later, he was returning the embrace with all he had.  "Oh, Sirius.  Voldemort get you?"

"Voldemort?" Anya gasped softly, paling slightly.

No one but Xander noticed.  He looked to his girlfriend, confused by her suddenly fearful eyes.

"Bellatrix," Sirius replied, releasing the younger man reluctantly.

"Ouch," James laughed.  "She'll never let you live that one down."

"Yeah, the look on her face will be…hang on," Sirius said, backing up and glancing at the man.  "You're not supposed to be alive any more than I am!"

Lily was still sitting on the floor staring at her hands, flexing and straightening her fingers.  "Are we sure we're alive?  I don't remember alive being this bad.  This feels more like Hell."

"No, this isn't Hell," Buffy replied, calmly.  "I already asked."

"What?" Willow asked suddenly, turning to the Slayer.

Buffy glanced at the redhead almost wearily.  "I mean, I've been there."

Lily studied the group of Americans with a frown.  Then she turned to James and Sirius and her frown deepened.  "Who are you?  Where are we?  How can I trust you?  And how can I be sure you're really Sirius and James?"

The two men looked at each other, then turned to Lily in unison.  "I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Lily immediately nodded and turned to the group of Americans.  "Okay.  What about you lot?"

"Okay," Willow drawled.  She looked up and took a deep breath.  Then she began.  "Hi.  I'm Willow Rosenberg.  I know you guys must be really disoriented and have a lot of questions and all, so we'll do our best.  Now.  I'm a witch.  So is my girlfriend.  Um…our friend, Buffy…uh, her over there, well, she died.  Saving our lives, she died a mystical death.  Well, we, uh, we being me, my girlfriend Tara, and our friends Xander and Anya, decided that we wouldn't let her be sent to Hell for all of us so we decided to resurrect her.  And we did.  Obviously.  And, well, the spell kinda went wonky, which spells with me tend to do, and, well, to make a long story short--"

"Too late," James interrupted, looking a bit shell-shocked.

"Well, we brought you three back, too," Willow finished with a gasp.

Lily nodded, pushing herself to her feet.  "What year is it?"

"2001," Dawn replied, impressed that the strange redhead had taken that in so quickly.

Lily almost slipped and fell.  She straightened, eyes wide in shock.  "Fifteen years."

"Same year for me," Sirius replied with a shrug.  "What month is it?"

"October," Xander supplied uncertainly.

Sirius shook his head slowly.  "I've only been gone for four months."

"Yeah," James said, still awed.  Then he turned to Sirius, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.  "You look like hell, Padfoot."

Lily nodded as she walked over to the older man.  "You're old."

"I'm only thirty-five…uh, thirty-six," Sirius replied indignantly.

James nodded once, as if his point were proven.  "Old."

"Skin and bones and sallow complexion," Lily mumbled, the mirth in her voice replaced by concern.

Sirius stared at the redhead as she placed a small hand on his shoulder.  She smiled at him.  He lost it.  His arms enveloped the petite woman, hugging her tightly.

A few moments later, Sirius released the woman, smiling.  "You spend twelve years in Azkaban and see how you like it."

Lily's joy suddenly vanished.  She blanched, looking at the man in horror.  "Azkaban?"

"Why?" James rasped out, horrified.

"Why?" Sirius chuckled uncomfortably, trying to shift the conversation back to the light-hearted air they had had before.  "Better question…why do you get to be in your twenties?"

"Azkaban?" Anya mumbled, fingers digging into her crossed arms.

"Because we died when we were twenty-one," James defended goofily.

Anya was staring at the trio.  Things were beginning to click into place.  "Voldemort…"

"Hmm," Sirius acknowledged dryly.  Then he broke into a huge grin.  "You don't know what it is to see you two again."

"James…Lily…" Anya muttered looking from one of the strangers to the next.

Lily smiled back.  "Same."

"OH MY GOD!"

All the Scoobies, save Anya, had been enjoying watching the strange trio's reunion.  But now everyone's smiles vanished as they all turned to a very white Anya, who was pointing a sharp finger at the strangers.

Xander took a step towards his girlfriend, eyes sweeping over her in concern.  "Anya?"

Anya started shaking a bit as she started to yell shrilly, "Voldemort…Azkaban…fifteen years…you're the POTTERS!"

James glanced over at Sirius and Lily, who shrugged blankly.  He turned and gave the ex-demon a weak smile.  "Er, yes."

Anya's arm dropped as she sagged in shock, panting loudly.  "Oh, my god!  It's…I mean…we brought back the _Potters_!"

Willow looked over at Xander.  "Is this good?"

Xander shrugged uncertainly.  "I dunno."

"It's…it's an honor to meet you, really!" Anya gushed as she stepped forward and seized upon James' hand, shaking it forcefully.

"Well," James said as he pried his hand out of Anya's grasp before he lost an arm.  "Er, thanks."

Anya stepped back, smiling broadly, eyes glazed over in awe.  She let her gaze travel over each of the Brits, shaking with joy.  "Wow, I mean…AH!"

Suddenly Anya's euphoric expression turned to one of total terror.  She jumped several feet back, staring at the older Brit in horror.

Now, the Scoobies were even more confused.  Dawn stared blankly at the former vengeance demon.  "Anya?"

"Sirius Black!" Anya shouted, still staring at Sirius.

Sirius looked up at Anya nervously.  "Yes?"

"Buffy!" Anya shouted, grabbing the Slayer by the arms and pushing her forward.  "Slay!"

Buffy stumbled, coming to a stop a few steps from the Brits.  "What?"

"Big bad!" Anya yelled at her making a wild gesture at Sirius.

Lily frowned.  "Huh?"

Anya didn't waste another moment.  Producing a long, thin stick from up her sleeve, she pointed it squarely at the older man.  "_Petrificus Totalus!_"

Sirius immediately went as stiff as a board, arms and legs snapping together, and fell over on his side.

Tara screamed.

"Sirius!" Lily shouted, scrambling to the fallen man.

Willow looked back and forth from the man on the ground to Anya, who continued to wield her stick mightily.  "What-why-how--"

Xander grabbed Dawn and stepped squarely in front of her, big brother instincts surfacing in the moment of confusion.

James knelt by Sirius side in shock.

Buffy sighed.  She looked from the shocked James and Lily to the frozen Sirius to her confused friends to the confidant Anya.  Anya met Buffy's gaze.  Buffy sighed again.  "Explain."

"He's a murderer," Anya replied immediately.  "He could kill us all!"

"_Murderer_?!" Lily repeated in shock.

Anya glanced at the Brits in sympathy and nodded.  "Death Eater."

"Sirius?!" James asked shrilly.

Lily shook her head.  "There's no way."

"Yeah, day after you two died," Anya explained.  "Blew up a street.  Killed thirteen people.  Plus, there's the two of you."

Lily furrowed her brow.  "What?"

"I know he was your Secret Keeper," Anya said simply.

"No, he wasn't," James replied automatically.

Lily nodded, supporting the frazzled man.  "It was Peter Pettigrew."

"Pettigrew?" Anya repeated, slipping deep into thought.  "I know that name…"

"He's the one who must have betrayed us," Lily told Anya, her tone sad at this realization and pleading for her friend.  "It would never have been Sirius."

"Please?" James asked almost pitifully.

Anya hesitated, then sighed.  She flicked her stick sharply.  "_Finite Incantatum!_"

Sirius immediately went limp.  A moment later he pushed himself to his feet, looking Anya straight in the eye.  "It wasn't me.  It was Pettigrew.  The street, those people…all him.  He was the other wizard there that day."

Anya, stick still pointed at the man, gazed at him long and hard.  Then she looked down at his left arm.  "Show me."

Sirius nodded, pulling his sleeve up.  All that lie beneath was perfect, pale skin.  "Look, there."

Anya lowered her stick, completely satisfied.  "Oh.  Okay."

"It's fine," Sirius replied with a shrug.  "Understandable."

Lily glanced at Anya curiously, then looked down at her stick.  "You're not a Muggle?"

"Muggle?" Tara repeated confused.

"What's a muggle?" Buffy asked.

"They are," Anya replied, ignoring her friends.  "I'm not.  Though I live like one."

"What are they?" Sirius asked, motioning to the confused Americans.

"Uh…" Anya muttered turning to Willow and Tara, "untraineds…" she turned to Xander, "Muggle…" then pointed at Dawn, "Key…" then around to Buffy, "Vampire Slayer."

"_Anya_!" Willow hissed in an attempt to silence the woman.

"Oh," Lily replied with an accepting nod.  "Okay."

"What are you?" Dawn asked pointedly.

James was still kneeling on the floor, dumbstruck.  "Confused."

"They know about demons and everything," Anya explained to her friends.  "They died fighting.  Well, I assume you died fighting, Mr. Black."

Sirius gave a stiff nod.  "Yes, I did."

"Um, do you think we could have a moment?" Lily asked uncertainly.  "To talk?  We are close friends and we have been separated for a while now."

"Of course," Anya replied.  "Uh, we'll just…"

"Go to the kitchen," Buffy finished for the former demon, taking her left elbow.  "Look for stuff."

"Ask Anya a few questions," Willow added, grabbing Anya's right arm.  Together, Buffy and Willow pulled Anya towards the kitchen.  Xander, Tara, and dawn followed wordlessly.

Sirius frowned in confusion.  "Thanks."

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A/N:  PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	7. Best Friends

A/N:  I like this chapter.  It's mildly angsty.  Just a bit of a warning.

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Sirius Black was a wizard of many experiences.  He had been born as first son into a long line of fiercely pureblood wizards.  He had gone seven years to Hogwarts as a Gryffindor in some of the most uncertain times the wizarding world had ever seen.  He had been a Marauder.  He had been a runaway.  He had been a member of the Order of the Phoenix, joining immediately after graduation.  He had seen war.  He had seen death.  His best friends had died.  His godson had been taken.  A trusted friend had betrayed him.  He had spent twelve years in a wizard prison that could suck the very soul from your body.  He had escaped, hidden out, ran from almost everyone.  He had fought evil.  And he had died.

Now, Sirius Black, man of a thousand horrific and trying experiences, was alive once more.  And sitting across from two people he had thought lost to him forever.  And he was the most frightened he had ever been.

Sirius sat down on the right side of the sofa, staring at the floor nervously.  He cleared his throat.  "So…"

"So," James Potter repeated as he sat down next to the man who had once been his best friend in all the world.

"Where were you guys?" Lily Potter asked, sitting across from the two men on the coffee table.  "Not in Hell, right?"

"No," Sirius replied with a sigh.  He shook his head slowly.  "Not in Hell.  I…I was someplace that just…was…where I could watch."

"Watch what?" James asked curiously, glancing up at the now older man.

Sirius shrugged.  "Things happening here.  But I wasn't alive.  I wasn't hungry…or sad…just warm.  Like I was eyes.  But it didn't feel like four months.  It felt…much shorter.  There were others there, too.  Witches and wizards mostly, but there were lots of Muggles, too.  They were happy and I knew that when I was…when I could turn away from the world…stop being eyes…I'd be happy, too."

Sirius sighed and looked up from the floor.  He gazed at the man and woman not sure how he felt.  Joy.  Longing.  Sadness.  "You two weren't there, though.  I looked for you.  Before I started watching.  But they said you weren't ready yet."

James Potter's hazel eyes clouded over in confusion as he squinted back at his lost friend.  "They?"

Sirius looked down.  "I…I can't explain it."

"I don't know that I was anywhere," Lily began quietly.  "I don't remember anything.  One moment there was Voldemort.  Then I was dead.  I knew I was dead.  It was strange.  All black for maybe five minutes or so.  All I could think was that I'd left Harry alone…in all that…"

James blinked, looking down at his hands.  "Harry…"

"Then I was cold," Lily continued, voice full of emotion.  "I was here."

"I was someplace warm," James told them.  "Someplace where love was tangible.  But I wasn't really happy.  I felt like things were undone.  Like it wasn't really my time yet.  I yearned for everyone.  I don't know how long I was there.  A long time.  Time didn't really exist there.  It was like I was there for only a moment, but that that moment was an infinity."

They sat there for a moment together in the near silence that was only broken by the angry tones echoing from the kitchen.  Then James sighed.  "None of us moved on."

"Maybe that's why we came back," Lily suggested.  "Because we wanted to be here."

Sirius stared at the two.  They were there, dressed in the strange Muggle clothes, looking just as they had looked the last time he had seen them some fifteen odd years ago.  They were just the same, all their perfections and imperfections still with them.  Lily was already playing with her hair, trying to sort out the mystery of their resurrection.  James was squinting constantly because of his lack of glasses.  The little lines around his nose and eyes were exactly the same.  He had already joked with Sirius and Sirius had responded.  It was second nature.  Lily had already scolded them and Sirius had immediately tried to appease her.  It was first nature, the one of self-preservation.  It was real.

"You're really here," Sirius breathed, staring at the pair.  They had been intricate pieces of the family he had always wanted.  When he lost them, it nearly drove him to murder.  Now they were back.  "You're really alive.  You…you…"

James Potter smiled at his friend.  "I know."

Sirius was a grown man, a manly man, one that was always strong.  Yet, there were tears in his eyes as James clasped him on the shoulder and Lily patted his knee soothingly.  Sirius fought against him as his heart raced in joy.  "I've missed you both so much."

Lily nodded.  "How were things…after?"

"They were very different," Sirius admitted darkly.

James snorted.  "I'd imagine."

Lily bit her lip.  Sirius had seen the question in her eyes for a long time now.  He knew James had the same question buried deep within his will too.  But now, sitting there with her husband and the man she considered a brother to her, Sirius knew Lily Potter wouldn't be able to keep her question back.  He was right.

"What about Harry?" Lily asked anxiously.

Sirius forced himself to hold the woman he loved like a sister's gaze.  He had dreaded this question.  He would have to admit to the couple that he had failed them.  That their son had not lived the life they had wanted for him. Then he lost his nerve.

"He, um, he survived," Sirius replied honestly.

James breath came out in a rush of relief.  He took several more calming breaths as he absorbed it, a small smile playing at his lips.  "And Voldemort?"

"He was defeated," Sirius confirmed.  "Disappeared for thirteen years."

Lily's face darkened.  "Harry's the one in the prophecy, then, isn't he?  I knew…he showed up at the house…he wanted Harry…and I knew…my baby…"

James looked up at Sirius, expression one of determination.  "Where is he, Padfoot?  Where's my boy?"

Sirius sighed.  He had to tell them.  "I…I can't be sure…but I'd wager…since it's October…he's probably at Hogwarts."

James watched him squirm.  He knew that something wasn't quite right.  "What aren't you telling us, Sirius?"

"Harry's…he's had a bit of a hard time in life," Sirius replied gently.

Lily frowned.  "What do you mean?"

"He didn't have the happiest of childhood's," Sirius admitted.

"Why?" Lily asked in surprise.  "I'm sure you were a wonderful parent.  You were always great with him when he was a baby."

"I was in Azkaban, Lil," Sirius reminded the woman gently.  "They thought I was the Secret-Keeper.  I went to Azkaban for twelve years.  Remember?"

Lily went very still as the blood drained from her face.  "Where did he go?  Remus--"

"Is a werewolf," James whispered, mind whirling.  Sirius could tell his friend knew the truth.  He just didn't want to know.  "He couldn't."

"Then Frank and Alice?" Lily suggested, tone becoming desperate.  "The Bones.  The Prewetts.  Anybody."

Sirius shook his head.  "He went to your sister, Lily."

James leaned down, his head in his hands.  "Not the Dursleys."

Sirius didn't say anything.  He couldn't.  It was the truth, however much they didn't want it to be.

James rubbed his eyes then looked up.  "Oh, god.  My boy…"

Lily calmly stood.  She turned to the door then started to run.  "I…I have to…Harry!"

"Lily!" James shouted, jumping to his feet.

Sirius stood but did nothing but watch as James caught Lily's arm and swung her around to him.  She wrapped her arms tightly around her husband, burying her face in his shoulder.  James rested his forehead against her red hair, cradling her soothingly.  "Shh, Lil.  We can't.  Not yet."

Lily pulled back slightly and looked up at her husband.  "Why not?"

"What do you think you could do?" Sirius asked softly.  "Do you know what kind of chaos you'd cause if you just happened to turn up alive?"

"You could vouch for us," Lily argued.

Sirius chuckled despite himself.  "Yes, because rising miraculously from the dead is so much easier when you've only been dead four months versus fifteen years."

"What about that woman?" Lily suggested.  "Anya?"

"An American witch that lives in the Muggle world?" James reminded, running his hands tenderly up and down her back.

"There's something not quite right about her," Sirius muttered.

James nodded, eyeing the doorway to the kitchen suspiciously.  "There's something not quite right about any of them."

Sirius smiled.  "Ever the Auror, James?"

"Please," James drawled.  "Untraineds?  As powerful as that redhead?"

"The others feel pretty powerful, too," Lily admitted, pulling out of James' arms.

"They're powerful enough," Sirius agreed.  "They should have been in school."

"I know but…this place," Lily murmured, shivering in spite of the warm house.  "It doesn't feel right."

"It's the Hellmouth."

The wizards and witch turned to see a very blonde man in a leather duster, red shirt, and black everything else standing in the front hall.

James wrapped a protective arm around his wife and pulled her back to him as he examined the man cautiously.  "Who are you?"

"I'm a vampire," the man replied as he walked in and looked around the messy living room.

Sirius started.  A vampire was in the house.  And he didn't have a wand.  He thought back to Defense Against the Dark Arts, trying to think of something—anything—to save them.  Then he remembered an important piece of trivia.  Vampire's had to have invitations to mortal dwellings.  "You came in."

"I'm a friendly vampire," the blond replied, words dripping with sarcasm.  "Bit like Casper.  Spike's the name."

Lily nodded at Spike very cautiously and motioned to herself.  "Lily Potter."

"I know," Spike replied matter-of-factly.  "I wouldn't go broadcasting that too much.  We have some less than savory blokes in this town.  You three being raised.  That's a big thing."

James raised an eyebrow, slowly warming up to the strange vampire that was Spike.  If he knew who they were then he knew what they were.  "You know?"

"Vampire," Spike replied simply, leaning back against the wall.

"Ah, well, you see?" Sirius asked Lily and James, pointing at Spike.  "He's right.  We can't just turn up out of the blue.  Things are…complicated."

Lily sighed curling into the protective arm James still had wrapped around her.  "What do we do?"

Spike cocked his head at the trio.  "Just take your time.  You have your lives again, to live as you see fit.  Take a few days and get used to the idea of living again.  You don't have to plan your lives right now."

Lily sighed, looking at the strange vampire.  "But…our son …our friends …"

"They've survived years without you," Spike replied in a soothing voice.  "They can wait a few days."

"Is Spike having a tender moment?"

They all turned to see Dawn standing in the doorway, smirking at the scene.  Spike smirked right back at the teenager.  "Oi, nibblet!"

"Um, you might want to come in here," Dawn suggested, gesturing towards the kitchen.  "It's getting a little weird.  And I think Willow and Tara might kill Anya."

Sirius looked towards the kitchen.  The voices were getting louder.  And angrier.  "What?  Why?"

Dawn bit her lip.  "Anya keeps saying Willow and Tara aren't witches."

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A/N:  I know that most will consider Spike a little OOC, but looking back in the series, he does have his moments.  He's good at getting to the root of an emotional problem and spelling it out for people that are too wound up to see the problem objectively.  I love that about him.  So please, don't flame!  BUT STILL REVIEW!!!


	8. Which Witch is Which?

A/N:  Sorry for the delay.  I'll try to be better about things.  There's a lot of information in this one, as well as some hints on where I'm going to go with this.  Pay attention…:)

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As soon as Willow was out of their guests' view, she tightened her grip on Anya's arm and began to pull a bit roughly, causing Buffy's feeble grip to break.  A little too vigorously, Willow dragged Anya down the small hall and all but threw her against the small island counter in the middle of the Summers' kitchen.  Dawn followed on her sister's heels with the very confused Xander and Tara right behind her.

Willow glared at the former vengeance demon, not sure what she was feeling or what she should be feeling something about.  With her friends breathing loudly behind her, Willow faced Anya down.  "What the hell was that?!"

Anya shrugged, gaze ticking down to the floor in uneasiness.  "What?"

"Stick?" Xander suggested to his girlfriend, gesturing emphatically at the piece of maple in the woman's hands.  "Pet cries total?  Weird freezing?  Finny in Katie?"

Anya rolled her eyes as she held up the long wooden stick.  "Wand, _petrificus totalus_, Full Body Bind, _finite_ _incantatum_."

Xander's mouth opened and closed for a moment before he nodded vigorously.  "Yeah, that."

"_Wand_?" Willow repeated incredulously.

"You all know I've been around awhile," Anya replied shortly.  "I was a demon.  I did magic."

"That was magic?" Buffy asked in mild surprise.

Tara shook her head, glancing from the Slayer to Anya.  "It's like no magic I've ever seen or read about or practiced."

Anya sighed.  "That's because you've never been taught our kind of magic.  You can't just stumble upon it in a high school library, no matter _who_ the librarian was."

"What kind of magic?" Willow asked doubtfully.

"Real magic," Anya replied simply.  "The kind witches and wizards use."

"Uh, hello?" Willow replied indignantly.  "We're witches.  We've been doing real magic for years."

"You're not witches," Anya said.

Tara and Willow turned to look at the former vengeance demon sharply.  "_What_?!"

Anya shook her head.  "You don't practice a lot of heavy magic on a regular basis.  You've done little stuff.  Glamours, basic levitation, things like that.  Almost anyone could do it with enough work.  Big exception there was cursing Angel.  It wasn't really until this last year or so that you moved on to lots of big stuff.  Some charms.  A little transfiguration.  It really surprised me when you Apparated Glory away that one time.  Though it looked like you almost splinched her _and _yourself doing it.  Then your big attack and the mind healing…and now…this…"

"See?" Willow asked smugly, crossing her arms.  "Magic.  Magic equals witch."

"You're not a witch, not really," Anya explained impatiently.  "You started Wiccan.  Wiccans are typically those who have low power levels, untraineds, and Squibs.  Muggles who really want to use magic.  Wiccans almost never aspire to true magics."

"Squib…Apparated…splinched," Tara muttered shaking her head in confusion.  "I don't understand all these terms you're using.  And I _do_ know magic.  I've been studying it all my life."

Anya rolled her eyes.  "Again.  You've studied Wicca.  It's completely different."

Tara slammed her hand down on the island, eyes flashing angrily.  "I practice magic daily!  I _am_ a witch!"

"So am I!" Willow replied, a little less forcefully as she glanced at her girlfriend in concern.

Dawn gave a low whistle while she began to back up ever so slowly.  "That's my cue."

"When Tara gets mad, I get scared," Xander agreed as he watched the girl back out of the kitchen carefully.

No one else noticed.

"The power you've both shown recently leads me to believe you could be witches," Anya said, choosing her words carefully.  "That you should be witches.  You both do advanced wandless magics, things I couldn't do."

"We are witches, Anya!" Willow shouted.  "None of this makes sense!"

"Whoa, Red, calm down," Spike said, pushing into the kitchen and putting his hands on Willow's shoulders.

Dawn walked in behind him, coming to stand behind Buffy.  Willow turned to Spike, gesturing at Anya emphatically.  "But she--"

"Is right."

They all turned to see Sirius, James, and Lily standing in the doorway.  Sirius, the one who had spoken, nodded slowly.  "You're not really witches."

Willow stared at the three Brits.  They stood there in the doorway confidently as if they knew things for a fact.  Willow shook her head in confusion.  "What?"

"Okay, gather round," Spike grunted, bored, motioning for everyone to calm down and make themselvess comfortable.  "Let's have a bit of story time."

"You can't," James immediately protested, stepping into the kitchen.

Lily nodded as she moved to stand beside her husband.  "They're Muggles."

"It's against our laws," Sirius pointed out, leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest.

Buffy sighed, rubbing wearily at her temples.  "Guys, it's way too early for cryptic.  Talk to us."

"Sometimes, exceptions must be made," Spike told the three foreigners in a firm voice.

James nodded slowly.  "Okay.  You guys know that there's really two worlds on this earth, right?"

"Yeah," Xander replied with a shrug.  "There's the natural world and the supernatural world."

Spike smirked as he leant back against the island next to Anya and took his lighter from his pocket.  "Okay, with all you kiddies have seen and done, you've barely skimmed the surface of the supernatural world."

"Well, then, let's dive right in," Willow drawled darkly.

"The natural world is generally referred to as the Muggle world," Sirius recited as if from a textbook.  "Muggles are people without significant magical abilities."

"And the supernatural is the wizarding world," Anya added in her matter-of-fact way.

"Wizard?" Dawn repeated, confused.  "As in Oz?  Flying monkeys?"

"No, no, no," Anya said with a sigh.  "A wizard is a male witch."

"Male witches are warlocks," Tara replied automatically.

Lily shook her head.  "No, that's Wicca."

"Witch and wizard children go to school for magical training at the age when in the natural world they'd start middle school," Spike explained as he flicked his lighter.  "They train through seven years of school."

"Witches and wizards use wands to channel their power," Anya continued, holding her wand up for everyone to see.  "They have a whole society, complete with schools, governments, businesses, sports, and other things that natural people don't know about."

Tara took the wand from Anya's hand, examining it closely.  "And you did this?  Trained?"

"Well, yes and no," Anya replied with a small shrug.  "I didn't train like witches and wizards train now.  When I was a kid, training was kept within the families.  And as centuries moved on, more and more discoveries were made.  I lack training in some areas and I have it in others."

Lily stared at the ex-demon for a moment, trying to size her up.  "What do you mean 'as centuries moved on'?"

"Oh, I was a vengeance demon for eleven hundred years," Anya explained with a proud smile.  "But my source of power broke and now I'm human again."

"Vengeance demon?" Sirius repeated doubtfully, examining Anya closely.  "As in one of D'Hoffryn's gang?"

"I was Anyanka," Anya said, extending her hand promptly.  "Anya now."

Sirius, James and Lily all three stared at her hand for several moments.  Then Lily looked up at her in amazement.  "We studied you in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Really?" Anya asked, very excited at the prospect.  "Wow, I didn't know I was that renowned."

Tara glanced at Anya before turning to regard the three foreigners.  "S-S-So you three are wizards, too?"

Lily frowned.  "Well, no, I'm a witch."

"Oh," Tara said, glancing down as her cheeks reddened slightly.  "Okay."

"Where're your wands?" Xander asked as he stepped between Willow and Tara and Sirius, James, and Lily, eyeing the trio more than just a bit skeptical.

James shrugged, shifting in front of Lily slightly in recognition to Xander's offensive shift.  "I'm sure that they were put in storage after we died."

"You'll need new ones," Spike commented as he started patting his duster's pockets slowly, as if searching for something.

Willow crossed her arms over her body as she shifted into a defensive stance.  "Okay, what are we if we're not witches?"

"Well, to the Wiccans you're witches, but to us…you're Wiccans," Lily explained slowly, elbowing her way out from behind James.  "That usually signifies low-level magic but…well, you raised the dead.  Theoretically, this shouldn't be possible.  The spells exist, yes, and most of them have been attempted thousands of times but…they've never worked.  This is the first resurrection to have ever yielded perfect, non-zombie, living people.  Ever.  There's nothing low-level about that."

Sirius sighed, looking down at the floor as he brought a hand to his temple to rub it.  "Are you sure you were never contacted about school?"

Willow started to nod her head, but was interrupted by the meek voice of her girlfriend.  "W-w-would the-the schools you're talking about…would they be private schools?"

"Yes," James replied, focusing more closely on the unsure woman.  "Boarding schools, usually."

"I was accepted to a private school," Tara explained slowly.  Everyone turned to stare at her, Willow in particular.  Tara just nodded.  "When I was eleven.  Legerdemain Conservatory."

"That's the west coast American school," Lily murmured lowly.

Tara gave a small half-smile, her eyes glazing over as she fell into memories.  "Dad was furious.  My mom…she wanted me to go.  Said it was part of my heritage.  But Dad said no, absolutely not.  He wanted me close."

"See, then?" Anya said excitedly, smacking Xander's arm a little bit too enthusiastically.  "Supposed to be a witch!"

James glanced at Anya, taking an unconscious step away from her, then turned back to Tara.  "That sometimes happens with Muggle-borns.  They don't understand or don't want to understand so they end up not receiving any training.  Though it's dangerous when that happens, so the Ministries and other governments usually use special tactics that work in nine out of ten cases."

"But with how you talked about your mum and all, it sounds like you might be a half-blood instead of a Muggle-born," Lily reasoned.

Willow watched all of this with no small amount of doubt.  "Well, I love this chain of reasoning, but there's just one problem.  What about me?  My parents would have loved to have sent me off to boarding school."

"Have you always lived here?" Lily asked after a moment.

Willow nodded.  "Yes."

Lily bit her lip.  "And this is the Hellmouth?"

"Yeah," Willow replied slowly.

Sirius snapped his fingers.  "Well, then, that explains it."

Buffy raised an eyebrow.  "Care to explain it to us?"

"There are a few Hellmouths on this world, this particular one being the most volatile," Spike droned, as if reciting from a textbook.  "Hellmouths put out a very powerful dark signature.  I know we've all felt it."

Xander shrugged.  "Yeah.  Of course.  It kinda…draws."

"That signature usually masks other magical signatures," Sirius explained.  "Even those put forth by a magical birth."

James shook his head.  "But if she's Muggle-born, living on the Hellmouth…you know."

Lily looked to Willow.  "I assume your parents are Muggles?"

"As Muggle as they come," Willow muttered.

"And you were born here?" Lily persisted.

"My parents settled here thirty years ago," Willow replied.

Sirius sighed, shaking his head slowly.  "_That_ does not make sense."

"Why?" Dawn asked, unable to remain silent any longer.

"Well, purebloods avoid Hellmouths like the plague," Sirius explained.  "And Hellmouth signatures make Muggle-borns impossible to be born here.  Something about the dark influx tampering with magical auras while still in the womb."

Tara threw up her hands, closing her eyes in a defensive gesture.  "Okay.  I'm not understanding these terms."

"Purebloods are witches and wizards that come from family lines that have always had magic in them," Anya told the actually-not-a-real-witch.  "Muggle-borns are witches and wizards who come from families with no magical history."

Willow snorted.  "Well, then, I'm definitely Muggle-born."

"That's a bit of a mystery," James said with a small smile.

Xander gave an insane sounding choked giggle.  "This whole thing is a little more than a bit of a mystery."

"Well, this is who we are," Lily said with a flourish of her arms.  "Wizards and witches."

"James Potter," James said, gesturing to himself.  "Wizard.  I apologize for the lack of formal introduction earlier."

"Buffy Summers," Buffy replied with a smile.  "The Vampire Slayer.  Not a problem, I understand."

James smirked.  "The Slayer.  Wow."

"You're right famous, you are," Sirius said, giving the petite blonde a very thorough once-over.  "Are you the one that went up against Richard Wilkins?"

"Yeah," Buffy replied slowly.  She cocked her head, giving Sirius a skeptical look.  "How did you know that?"

Sirius shrugged a shoulder.  "Made the papers."

"_What_?!"

Sirius smiled as everyone of the Scoobies, save Spike, rounded on him in shock.  "Well, it's not like we don't know about you or what you do.  Something like eighty percent of the Watchers Council is Hogwarts alumni."

"Hogwarts?" Dawn repeated, confused.

"British school for witchcraft and wizardry," Anya muttered.

"Never heard of you having such a support group though," Sirius admitted.

"We didn't make the papers?" Xander asked in disappointment.  "But I was key guy."

"I'm Lily Potter," Lily said, extending her hand towards the group.  "James' wife.  I'm a witch.  Er…rather nervous about being on a Hellmouth and all."

"You get used to it," Dawn replied, taking the witch's outstretched hand.  "I'm Dawn Summers by the way.  Buffy's my big sister."

"And you're…the Key?" Lily asked slowly.

Dawn raised an eyebrow.  "You know about the Key?"

"More theory than anything," Sirius replied.  "It's not believed to really exist."

"Well, I exist," Dawn replied with perky grin.  "Not that I can do anything special with my Keyness anymore since I don't really open much of anything.  Not anymore."

"Oh, well, I didn't mean to insult or anything," Sirius laughed before stooping down in a deep bow.  "Sirius Black.  I'm a wizard, too."

"Sirius," Willow muttered.  "Weird name."

Sirius smirked.  "Willow is any better?"

"Willow Rosenberg," Willow replied in mock-indignance.  "Nice to meet you.  I guess I'm a Wiccan."

"Tara Maclay," Tara replied, trying not to laugh.  "Willow's Wi-Wi-Wiccan friend."

Sirius' eyes swept over her, a little too interested.  "Friend?"

Willow frowned and took a step closer to Tara.  "Girlfriend."

Sirius smiled.  "Gotcha."

"Anya Emerson," Anya said in her direct manner, holding her hand out to James.  "Like I said before, it's an honor to meet you."

"It's more of an honor to meet you, really," James replied, shaking her hand from an arm's length away.  "You're well feared."

Anya flashed him a bright smile.  "You're so sweet."

"I'm Xander Harris," Xander said.  "I'm not much of anything."

James frowned, glancing from Lily to Sirius then to Xander.  "Harris?"

"Yeah," Xander replied.

"Hmm," Sirius murmured, staring at Xander.  "And this is California?"

"Yeah," Xander replied, puzzled at the line of questioning.  "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Sirius replied, shrugging it off.  "Never mind."

A tense silence descended over the room.  Ever so slowly, everyone's gaze came to rest on the vampire still fiddling with his lighter on top of the counter.  He looked up, noticing the looks being sent his way.  He raised an eyebrow.

Buffy smiled nervously, then nodded towards Lily, Sirius, and James.  "Spike?"

"What?" the vampire asked, looking at the group arrogantly.  "Everyone already knows me."

Lily glanced at Buffy.  "If you're the Slayer, why are you friends with a vampire?"

Buffy sighed.  "It's a very long story."

"He's harmless," Dawn answered.

Spike huffed indignantly.  "I am not!"

"Well," James started slowly, "thank you for raising us.  It, well, this sounds stupid, but…it means a lot."

Willow beamed at him.  "You're welcome."

"So…you died, eh?" Sirius asked Buffy in an attempt to make conversation.

Buffy nodded.  "Fighting a hell goddess."

"A hell goddess?" James repeated.

"And you two are Wiccans," Sirius said, "but not really."

Lily turned to Dawn.  "And you're the Key."

James sighed.  "I think we've missed a few…hundred things."

"You?" Xander snorted.  "What about us?"

"Anybody hungry?" Dawn asked suddenly.

Tara nodded.  "Let's grab a bite and…talk."

Sirius smiled.  "Sounds like a plan to me."

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A/N:  Don't forget to review!


	9. Cry Baby

A/N:  And you thought I'd never update.  Lol.  Enjoy.

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The "quick bite" took three hours.  And boy, was it ever a long three hours.  Three hours in which everyone sitting around the table became more confused than they ever had at some point(s).  But many cheeseburgers and arguments later, everyone seemed to be on a rather good level with one another.

Willow and Tara were amazed that they were both amazed at this sudden not-really-witches-but-obviously-overly-capable-of-being-real-witches development.  It was all the rest of the Scoobies could do to keep Willow from hopping the next bus to LA in search of a place that sold wands after it was unanimously decided it would not be a wise course of action because of drawing too much attention.

Sirius seemed torn between posing the group all sorts of questions about their lives on the Hellmouth and just hugging James and Lily repeatedly.  He ended up doing both.  He talked with Buffy and Xander more than anyone.  He kept asking Buffy random questions about Slaying, questions that seemed to focus more on the causing trouble aspects of Hellmouth life than the actual fighting darkness parts.  It was the same way with Xander.  Well, actually, Sirius didn't even try and pretend to talk about anything other than trouble causing with Xander.  The two seemed to click on a very personal class clown level.  

James seemed to appreciate this aspect of Xander's personality as well.  Dawn had heard the younger man whisper something to Sirius that sounded a bit like, "What do you think?  Time to replace Peter?"  Lily had heard as well and had not been happy about it.  Something about corrupting an innocent boy.

James also enjoyed talking to Willow and Tara.  The pair was demanding answers and James was kind enough to supply them…okay, so it was more like he was trying to feel superior, and see if he could pry some wandless magic tips from Willow, but still.  And he hovered around Sirius as much as Sirius kept close to him.  And they both absolutely fawned over Lily.  Dawn smiled at the trio's obvious love for each other friends and his joy to be together again.

Lily of course talked with the Americans who had played such a role in her resurrection.  But Dawn noticed how quiet she had been.  Most of the time, even though she was smiling, her eyes were screaming.  They were filled with pain and grief, something Dawn recognized, something the girl knew intimately.

Dawn watched as her friends and their guests started to break up after dinner.  Anya and Xander excused themselves and left, both having work the next day.  Willow, of course, invited the three Brits to stay as they had nowhere else to go and she was mainly responsible for their being there.  She and Tara decided to bunk in Dawn's room so that James and Lily could take the big bed.  Sirius was more than happy to take the inflated air mattress that had been gathering dust in the basement.

The struggle to actually inflate the thing was something none of them had expected.  Somehow, Tara ended up chasing Sirius through the living room with an axe after a rat had been flung into her hair.  There was also the incident of James finding Willow's Wiccan supplies and trying to cast a spell to fill the mattress.  That hadn't been good either.

Dawn sighed, dismissing herself from the happy chaos and walking into the kitchen.  A flicker of light caught her attention as she walked in, causing her to freeze silently in the doorway.  The sounds of shouting and laughter faded away as Dawn took in the scene before her.  The plates from dinner were piled to the right of the sink.  The spout was on, clear water flowing quietly from the silver tap.  It sparkled brilliantly, the light in the room coming from two candles dancing from their place in the window frame just in front of the sink.

Her red hair was like a flame on its own.  It fell down her back, curling slightly, almost in motion as she moved in the candle light.  The sleeves of Willow's burrowed top were rolled up.  Her hips swung slowly in some foreign motion.  Her arms were gently circling over and over as she scrubbed the stoneware plate with the green rag.

Dawn watched the woman scrub.  She swirled the rag through the sparkling, flowing tap water, then moved it back to the plate.  Back and forth, from the water to the plate, swirling, twirling around.  Her face was set, passive, empty, though her entire self seemed to live for the dance.

For it was a dance.  Swirl, twirl, over, again.  The movements were slow and graceful, as if gently rippling through space and time.  It was as if all else fell away as this dance went on.

The first tear Dawn saw fell slowly.  It was like a diamond, it glimmered so, caught in the air.  It was faceted, each face holding within it a single wish and dream that was lost long ago.  The tear fell towards the sink, blending with the flowing crystal water and washing away.  Then came the next.  And the next.  Silently they fell, this tide of tears.  She danced and she wept, though her face remained empty.

And Dawn, caught up in that dance of tears, couldn't help herself.  "Why are you so sad all the time?"

The dance froze, as if captured in a moment of time.  But the air was still heavy in the room.  It was full of sadness and grief, weighing down upon them with all that remained unsaid.

Lily kept her gaze down, eyes set upon the plate.  "It's all just…very different."

Dawn hesitated.  She didn't know the woman.  The strangers had been very closed about their past, mainly because it seemed to Dawn that they had the potential to have more complicated lives than she and her family.  Dawn took three small steps closer, wandering steps to the island counter she lived to lean against, then sighed.  "I know you weren't in Hell," she whispered, keeping her voice soft but strong and insistent.  "I heard you talking with James and Sirius."

"I, um…" Lily's cool stature broke, though she looked to be trying desperately to remain calm.  "I'm twenty-one going on thirty-six.  I've been dead for fifteen years and…"

"And you're worried about your son," Dawn finished.

Lily looked up in surprise.  Her green eyes met Dawn's blue eyes.  They stood there for a moment, holding each other's gazes.  An understanding was reached then.  Dawn had lost a mother, both in Joyce and in Buffy.  Lily had lost a child.

Lily broke eye contact first, letting her eyes look over Dawn.  Dawn was fifteen going on sixteen.  Just a little younger than Harry would be.  Lily looked at Dawn and Dawn stood straight, trying to give her the best picture of a mid-teenager.  "He'd be about your age, you know."

She nodded.  She had known.  Sirius had let it slip.  Dawn could feel nothing but pity for this woman.  "He was a baby when you died?"

Lily looked down, staring hard at the cold floor.  "Yes."

Dawn fought back another sigh as she took another step towards the woman.  "It's hard, huh?  Not knowing."

Lily sniffed, a sign that betrayed the tears she was fighting back.  "You're very smart for fifteen."

"Why don't you ask Sirius?" Dawn suggested with a bit of hope on Lily's behalf.  "I bet he knows."

"I…I…I don't know," Lily stammered out, her voice strained.  "It's…strange.  I thought that…this time…things would be different.  I'd see my baby grow up.  Now he's sixteen and I missed it all!"

The plate Lily had been holding slipped from her fingers as she began to crumple.  Dawn was quick, though.  The plate she ignored, barely even registering the sound of stoneware shattering against hardwood.  She caught the redhead in a hug, wanting to help the woman, yet having a small part of her screaming to absorb some of the motherly vibes rolling off Lily.  She held the witch in a tight hug as she began to sob into her shoulder.  "All I've ever wanted was my baby and James.  Then that stupid prophecy…"

"Shh," Dawn mumbled.  "It's okay."

Lily quieted a bit at this, no longer sobbing.  And somehow, a great shift happened.  No longer was Dawn holding Lily supportively.  Lily was cradling Dawn.  Comfortingly.  Like a mother would hold their child. 

"Children know…" Dawn whispered, tears rising to her own eyes, "that their parents love them."

Her hands ran slowly through the older woman's hair, letting the silky strands fall between her fingers, even as Lily rocked her back and forth.  "They do…even after they're gone."

"But you knew your mother," Lily pointed out in a mumble.

"I'm sure your son knows you through the people that remember you," Dawn replied, thinking on her dead mother and newly returned sister.  "I'm sure he knows you love him."

And weeping for those they had lost, they held each other…a lost mother and a lost daughter.

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A/N:  I know, I know.  Short and disappointing after the long wait.  I'm starting the next chapter now to try and get back on my bi-weekly schedule for this fic.  I'll try and do better.  Please remember to review!


	10. Father Figure

A/N:  Um…this is a little angsty…

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The dishes were clean and sparkling in the cupboards.  The leftovers from their sparse dinner were preserved within the cold confines of the refrigerator.  The kitchen was spotless.  It was time for bed.

Then the loud, piercing wailing began.

He sighed.  It was some sort of test, he was sure.  Some kind of trial of his patience and his will.  Anytime, day or night, that something needed to be done or he was about to do something he actually enjoyed or he was in desperate need of rest, it would start.  That high-pitched siren, the never-ending, wordless scream that always took precedent, no matter what was going on in the world beyond.

"James?  Harry's crying!"

He sighed, looking up towards the ceiling.  He couldn't see her, but he knew she was there, lounging in the tub, soaking in sinfully warm and wondrous water, letting the grime of the day wash away.  And what a load of grime it was.  Their cottage was wonderful, a magnificent starting house for a young family, especially at the price they had gotten it at.  But even two years after moving in, there was still an unbelievable amount of work to be done.  And add on to that a baby who was fast approaching the toddler years?  Too much.

Not that he could begrudge her the small amount of time she asked be hers.  If he was truthful, he would remember he was allotted far more time to be idle.  But he still glared at the ceiling while willing the horrible sound tearing through the house to stop.

"James?"

_Yes, fine, I'm going,_ he thought as he turned away from the clean kitchen and started for the side door that led to the parlor.  _Infernal woman…_

He walked into the parlor and looked to the playpen he'd left his son asleep in.  The baby was no longer sleeping, looking like a cherub from a renaissance painting.  He was awake, standing with the support of the bars of the playpen.  And he looked scared.

With one look at his son, the most important person and indescribable relationship he had in his life, his frustration melted away.  He knelt down next to the pen, letting his hand stroke through the silky dark hair that wisped around his son's head before reaching down to hook under his arms.  "Come here, Harry."

The baby quieted as soon as his father touched him, raising his arms up eagerly as he was hefted up into the air.  As the man settled his son in his arms, the babe latched onto his shirt, resting his lightly against the broad chest and smiling up at his father.  The man felt a wondrous, indescribably peace/love fill his heart, and he grinned down as he hugged the child close.  "My little boy."

"Everything all right?"

He spun around, the child laughing in joy all along, to find his wife standing at the foot of the stairs.  She was beautiful in his eyes.  She was wearing a t-shirt and flannel pants, the ends of her hair damp from her bath, but still gorgeous in a wonderful way.

He looked from his queen to his prince, thinking again on how lucky he was.  "Everything's fine.  Just finishing up in the kitchen."

"You finished those dishes ages ago," she said as she turned and flopped down onto the sofa, eyes never leaving him.  "Where were you?"

"Looking for Tess," he admitted, his tone edged with a hint of worry.  "I sent her off hours ago to Peter."

She rolled her eyes.  "That old owl is getting on in years, James.  Perhaps we should get a new one soon."

He looked at her horrified, even as his son started playing with his nose.  "Replace Tess?"

"Of course not," she said, her gaze ticking to their child.  "I'm sure Harry would like a nice gift."

He scoffed, tucking the boy into one arm so he could use his other to tickle him.  He smiled down at the child, letting the innocent giggles wash over him.  "I bet you'd like a toy broom much better than a silly old owl, huh, my little lion?"

"James, he just turned fifteen months today," his wife objected immediately.  "Those things are for four-year-olds."

He didn't look at her, his attention too focused on playing with his son.  "Ah, but my little lion's special."

"What makes Harry so special?" she asked, though he could hear the love and the hint of amusement her tone carried.

He stopped tormenting his son, instead letting his hand cup his face lovingly.  "Because he is."

He swung the child upwards, looking up into that grinning little face then bringing him down so that they were mere inches apart.  "Aren't you, Harry?  You're the bestest boy in the whole world, huh?  You're going to go to Hogwarts, you'll be a Gryffindor, just like your mum and pop.  You'll be star Chaser of the Quidditch team.  You'll be smart, a prefect, the best of your class.  You'll meet a nice girl and fall madly for her."

"I'm sure he loves you planning his life at fifteen months," his wife commented wryly from her seat on the sofa.

He sighed in mock-frustration.  "I'm not planning his life.  Just the next twenty years or so."

She laughed at that, flipping her hair as she curled her feet under here.  "And what will Harry end up being in this dream world?  An Auror like his dad?"

He became very serious then, watching his son's green eyes take in everything his father was.  "Whatever he wants to be."

He pulled the baby into his chest, curling his arms tight around him in a tight hug.  "Your father loves you very much, Harry.  Did you know that?"

"Daaa-da," the boy cooed as his hands grabbed fistfuls of shirt and tugged in a sort of futile attempt to hug his father back.

The man nodded and smiled, rocking his son back and forth slightly.  "Very much.  My boy.  I love you."

He relished the feeling of his son, loving the look of unconditional love on the child's beautiful face.  He sighed, completely contented.

A feeling of dread suddenly wrapped around him like a cold, wet blanket.  He turned to the window just in time to see the light of the streetlamp disappear.

She was at his side in an instant, eyes staring out into the dark of the night as well.  She bit her lip, her body curling towards him in an unconscious display of the anxiety she was feeling.  "James…?"

Then he felt it.  The spell coming down.  He stepped slightly in front of her, an instant reaction.  "Someone's coming."

"It's just Sirius," she suggested hopefully, though when he looked in her eyes, he knew she didn't believe it.  "Or Peter."

"No…" he mumbled, stepping closer to the window.  The child in his arms was fidgeting, his little face twisted up in fear and unhappiness.  He shifted the baby so he was tucked in one arm, but in the corner of it, safer.  His horrible eyes strained and his senses reached out.

Then he knew.

He turned to his wife.  "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him!  Go!  Run!  I'll hold him off!"

He handed the babe to his mother, pausing only long enough to give the child a quick kiss on his brow.  She looked up at him and their eyes met.  The gaze was eternal, yet it lasted half a second.  Then she was gone, racing up the stairs.

The last time that James Potter saw his son, Harry was reaching for him, his face pure agony.  And a long, sad wail filled the night.

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The baby cry resounded in his head, pounding on and on.  It echoed, tearing through his mind as sharply as any piercing blade might have.  Again and again, as loud as a drum, as shrill as the eagle cry.  He couldn't escape from it, he realized, even though he kicked at the air above him and tore at his hair.

It was only when the hand smacked him sharply across the face that he realized the cry was no longer the baby's, but his own.

"Harry?  You okay, mate?"

Harry Potter opened his eyes.  The world invaded his sight in blurred, shadowed hues.  His best friend, Ron Weasley, was sitting above him, lit wand held high, looking concerned and a bit terrified.

Harry frowned at Ron, pushing the boy away.  His friend yelped as he fell to the floor, but he took no notice.

Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, and Seamus Finnigan were all awake.  Seamus was watching from his seat on his bed, wide-eyed.  Dean was kneeling on top of his covers on the floor, apparently having rolled out of bed.  Neville was on his feet, one hand on the far poster of Harry's bed, looking completely ashen, though still obviously extremely concerned for his friend.

Harry scowled at them all, then turned to glare at the offensive light that glowed from Ron's wand.  

Ron ignored Harry's dark look and instead jumped to his feet, standing before his friend and examining him closely.  "Harry?  Was it a dream?"

Harry blinked.  He had almost forgotten about the dream.  He looked around the dorm room again, disoriented as it all came back in a rush.  "Yeah…I…"

"Another nightmare, then?" Ron asked, pushing Harry's hair back to examine his scare.

Harry swatted the hand away, hating the looks that his dorm-mates were giving him.  They were looks of varying emotions, from concern to fright, but somewhere in all of them, there was a trace of pity.  This wouldn't be the first dream of the term.  They were all bad, though this one felt different.  He hated it.  He hated all of it.  "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Ron repeated doubtfully, moving to examine Harry's scare again.

Harry pushed Ron away again, grabbing for the cloak draped across the foot of the bed.  He stood and wrapped it around him, letting himself relish the warmth it instantly gave.  Then he started for the door.  "I'm going for a walk."

"Harry," Ron started, his tone edged with annoyance and frustration.  But Harry didn't stop.  He kept going.  "Harry, wait!"

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Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was cold at night.  The twisting corridors that were filled with the laughter of children by day seemed to seep the feeling of cold death.

Remus Lupin sighed.  The halls of Hogwarts echoed with silence.  It was a loneliness.  He had never before felt so alone, so hopeless.  It was even worse than it had been before, though the situation was technically the same as it had been.  Three friends were dead.  One friend was a traitor.  And one boy was unreachable.

Sirius Black was dead.  The words were still as foreign to Remus as they had been when he had said them to Harry in the Department of Mysteries.  The weight of Sirius' death hung upon his shoulders like that of the world.  He was alone again.  Even though he had rediscovered old friendships, like those with Moody and Tonks, and made new ones, like his friendships with the numerous Weasleys, in the time between regaining Sirius and losing him again, he was still alone.

The past that was still so much a part of him still haunted his thoughts, even here in the school.  There was a memory etched onto every wall, a remembered smile in every room.  It was both heaven and hell, heaven to be there, in a place of happy feelings, hell to remember, knowing it would never be again.  It was something he needed.  Maybe that was why Dumbledore had asked him to return to Hogwarts as a temporary teacher of Defense Against the Dark Arts (having found no one else who would even apply).  Then again, it might have been for Harry.

Harry was another heartache.  The boy had pulled within himself over the summer.  The added weight of the Prophecy and the death of his godfather had been too much for the boy.  He was falling and falling fast.  He was distant with his friends.  His grades, he had learned from his colleagues, were suffering.  He hadn't even been putting as much effort into Quidditch as he had in the past.  His eyes were always sad.  Always tired.

Remus continued walking down the hall toward his room, picking at the sandwich he had liberated from the kitchens just moments ago.  He turned the corner, resolved to let such serious thoughts be for the night, when the object of his musings came strolling around the corner.

"Harry?" Remus asked, shocked to see the boy he had been thinking about.

Harry nodded at the werewolf passively.  "Good evening, Professor."

The boy seemed to be bothered by something.  What, he didn't know, but Remus could tell it was something important.  Remus quickly tried to school his features, doing his best to remain a strong authority figure while being supportive of the boy who had lost so much.  "Harry, what are you doing up at this hour?"

Harry shrugged uninterestedly.  "I…I just needed something to eat."

"At 3:24 in the morning?" Remus asked skeptically.

Harry shrugged again.  "Couldn't sleep."

Remus fought back a sigh.  The boy's eyes were circled by ever darkening rings.  He knew from Ron that Harry hadn't been sleeping well since he had come back to school.  Haunted by nightmares, nightmares of the things he had seen, with both his own eyes and through the eyes of Voldemort.  "Did you have another nightmare?"

Harry looked down at the floor, eyes sad, the first sign of emotion Remus had seen in him in a good long while.  "It wasn't really a nightmare."

Remus scowled to himself, trying to think of words to comfort the boy.  Finally, after several moments of silence, he sighed.  "Harry, I know Sirius' death is hard to accept, but--"

"No, it wasn't that," Harry interrupted quickly, looking frightened at the mention of his godfather.  Remus frowned at that.  Hermione had told him Harry refused to talk to anyone about Sirius.  It wasn't healthy.

Remus nodded, eyes going up to the infamous scar.  "It wasn't something to do with Voldemort, was it?"

Harry hesitated at that, then shook his head.  "No.  And yes.  It's always something to do with him."

Remus almost openly gaped at the boy.  He stood straight and tall, like the Harry he had met the first time he had tried his hand at teaching.  But something was off.  The light that had seemed to shine unendingly from his emerald eyes was gone.  Dead.  His spirit seemed just a few steps off.  The boy had truly lost his innocence.  And his hope.

"Harry?" Remus said, voice barely above a whisper, as he stepped closer to look in the boy's eyes.  Remus nearly choked at the emptiness he found.  "Harry…please let me help you."

Harry looked down.  He stared at the floor for a moment, then half-turned.  Remus moved to stop him, but the teen suddenly froze.  Harry chewed on his lip for a moment, as if contemplating something, then nodded to himself.  "Did my dad have a nickname for me?"

Remus blinked.  Hard.  Of all the different scenarios he had been preparing himself to face, that was the last thing he thought the boy would ask.  After Harry's trip into Snape's penseive, he had not been willing to discuss his parents in any shape, form, or fashion.  Especially his father.  "James?"

Harry continued to nod slowly, eyes still glued to the floor.  "I dreamed of…of him and Mum.  He called me his little lion."

A sudden, hard lump formed in Remus' throat instantly.  Hearing the boy say that…it was like a strained, warped echo of a past that Remus was trying hard to forget.  "Yes.  He hoped you would be in Gryffindor, even from the beginning."

"He was different," Harry said, voice devoid of emotion.  "Not like he had been in that pensieve.  He was…he was different."

"He grew out of it," Remus said softly.  'No one's perfect, Harry.  James included."

Harry paused a moment, then looked up, straight at Remus.  "He told me he loved me."

The werewolf smiled softly and nodded slowly.  "He did."

Harry looked back down, then shook his head, crossing his arms in front of him as if creating a barrier to block out anything that might hurt him.  "I suppose it was a dream, though."

"Maybe," Remus said, knowing in his heart that it had to be.  Harry was not known for having much luck with divination or contacting the spirit realm, his connection with Voldemort aside.  He had successfully flunked out of Trelawney's class with his abysmal O.W.L. score.

Harry nodded, then turned, making towards Gryffindor Tower.  Once again, the boy stopped after a few steps.  He turned back to Remus, who was rooted in his spot, watching the child who should not be carrying the burdens he was.  "Did they have an owl?  Called Tess?"

Remus had to make a conscious effort not to drop the sandwich in his hand.  He stared hard at the boy before him for several moments, lost somewhere between shock and disbelief.  "Tess was James' owl from first year to the end.  She wasted away after he'd gone."

Harry nodded slowly, as if he'd known it.  Remus shook his head as he continued to stare at his lost friends' son.  "How did you know that?"

A small ghost of a smile flickered across Harry's face.  "Maybe it wasn't a dream."

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James Potter awoke from his nightmarish memory in a sweat-induced haze.  He had lived it again.  The night of his death.  Oddly enough, it wasn't the confrontation with Voldemort and that last curse he had fixated on.  It was playing with his boy.

He sat up sharply.  He was in the flowery room that belonged to Willow and Tara, right where he had been earlier, in Sunnydale, California.

Lily gasped beside him, having been jolted awake by his sudden movement.  She started to pat her arms around the bed drowsily, searching for his warmth, he was sure.

He didn't care.

He knew what he wanted now.  He knew what he needed.

He leapt out of bed, heading straight for the door.

"James?" Lily asked, becoming more aware with his sudden departure.

He made his way down the stairs quietly, careful not to wake the many girls that were sleeping soundly in the house.  He walked right into the living room, to the air mattress lying against the wall in the corner.  He knelt down beside the sleeping form of his friend.

"_James_!" Lily hissed quietly at him as she scurried into the living room behind him.

James ignored her and shook Sirius' shoulder.

"Wha--" Sirius gasped as he instantly sat up.  He looked around, then blinked at the sight of his friend.  "James?"

James Potter regarded Sirius Black solemnly.  "Tell me about my son."

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A/N:  Okay, guys.  Be honest.  Who teared up when Harry started his "THEN I DON'T WANT TO BE HUMAN" thing?  I sorta bawled.  I hope I did justice to the situation.  If I didn't, lemme know and I'll try to rework it.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!


	11. My Boy

A/N: This chapter can be skipped. Basically, what Sirius will do in this chapter is recount everything we've learned form the past five books for Lily and James. I thought about just saying something like "Sirius, James, and Lily talked well into the next morning" at the beginning of the next chapter, but I suddenly got the itch to write this all out. It's a chance to build on Lily and James' virtually unknown characters (oh, come on, all we really know for sure was that James was a regular egotistical boy when he was sixteen (i.e. "It's devastating. He's turned into a sixteen-year-old boy. Of course, you'll have to kill him.") and that they both died) and the little we've seen of Sirius as adult-away-from-godson. It's pretty skippable if you _really_ for some reason don't want to read this, though I recommend that you take the five minutes to sit down and at least skim it. I've taken some liberties and worked up some fun notions on the dynamics of the Marauders (and Lily).

Sirius sat up slowly, frowning slightly as if he'd known this was coming yet had no idea how to "What do you want to know?"

"Everything," James replied quietly.

Sirius sighed and leaned back against the wall. "That's quite a bit, then."

"You said you were sent to Azkaban," James said, bringing up the one thing that had been bothering him all night. "Working off of the bits and pieces I caught from you and Anya, I'm guessing you went for being a Death Eater?"

Sirius nodded slowly. "The official charges were two counts of being an accessory to a murder, yours and Lily's, one charge of attempted murder, Harry, the charge of being a Death Eater in the service of Voldemort, obviously, the charge of treason, which is always tagged onto Death Eater charges nowadays, and thirteen counts of murder."

"Thirteen murders?" Lily repeated in shock. "Anya said something like that, but--"

"Yes," Sirius cut in, not wanting to hear whatever his friend was about to say. "It's true."

James frowned, watching Sirius carefully. "What happened?"

"I went to check up on Peter that night," Sirius explained softly. "He was gone. Everything looked fine and nothing was out of place. I went to Godric's Hollow. I don't really think I was thinking at that point. I was working of adrenaline and fear and denial. But it was all in vain. The house was gone and you were dead and…and I knew. I knew that the only way that it could have been that way was…was if…if Peter--"

Sirius trailed off. He grit his teeth, expression somewhere between anger and terrible sadness. James clapped his best friend on the shoulder and Lily gave him a supportive smile. He took a deep breath while closing his eyes for a moment, looking as if he were trying to calm himself. A moment later, he continued. "I tracked him down. Muggle area, very busy. November 1st, you know. Holidays just a bit off. With Halloween past, the frenzy had begun. Cornered him. He started shouting about me betraying you and Lil. Said things I wanted to say to him. The curse blew apart the street. Killed a dozen Muggles, injured countless others. He bit off his finger after he was done…while I was still staring at him in shock. Then, I swear…the bastard smiled at me. I hesitated. Torn between wondering where our Peter was or if I should help the injured Muggles or taking him into custody or if I should just bloody well blow him into pieces. He took the moment, transformed, and was gone. Everyone 'knew' _I_ was the Secret Keeper. I became the Death Eater, the traitor, and the murderer."

Silence hung over them, heavy and ominous. After several long, tense moments, James sighed. "I'm so sorry, Sirius."

"I was there for twelve years," Sirius told them quietly. "What I know about Harry during that time is pieced together from a hundred different conversations with Harry, Albus, Remus, Molly and Arthur Weasley, a couple of Harry's friends, Hagrid, Minerva McGonagall, and a few others.

"Hagrid was the one who pulled Harry out of the house," he explained. "That was the last time I saw Harry until he was nearly fourteen. From what I understand, Harry was taken from there and moved to a safe location in Wales until it was confirmed that Voldemort was, in fact, gone. He was then taken by Hagrid to Privet Drive where Albus and Minerva were waiting for them. They left him on the doorstep for Petunia and Vernon."

"Why Petunia?" Lily asked bitterly. "Even if it couldn't be you, why not someone else?"

Sirius shrugged. "Dumbledore explained to me once that it had to do with protection spells."

Lily shook her head. "I'm surprised Alice didn't challenge it."

Sirius quickly looked away. James noticed. "What?"

Sirius sighed. "As I understand it, Alice was going to challenge. But, um, she and Frank…"

James sighed as well. Lily closed her eyes, slouching over just a little bit more.

Sirius took a deep breath. "It was the Lestranges. Bellatrix, Rodolphus, and Rabastan, along with Barty Crouch."

"Little Barty?" James asked in surprise. "That kid from Ravenclaw a year down?"

The other man nodded. "Yeah."

"Dead?" Lily asked.

"St. Mungo's," Sirius replied gently. "Fourth floor."

Lily let out a whooshing breath. Everyone knew what it meant to be on the fourth floor on St. Mungo's. It was better not to ask.

James glanced at Lily, then back to Sirius. "How bad was it? After?"

"Bad," Sirius replied without hesitation. He looked up at his friend. "Do you want to talk about that or Harry?

James straightened instantly. Sirius flashed the smaller man a bright smile. "That's what I thought."

Lily sighed. "I don't even know if I truly want to hear this."

"Go on, Sirius," James urged, taking his wife's left hand in his right and giving it a supportive squeeze.

"He was raised by Vernon and Petunia," Sirius began. "I've been led to believe that he was treated…less than civil with them. His only clothing was the hand-me-downs of his cousin. He's skinny, a little too skinny for my tastes. I've worried about how they feed him more than a time or two before. He wears glasses and looks like he's had the same pair his whole life. Taped on the bridge. I know they've used him for labor before, not sure how hard. And his bedroom was the, er, the cupboard under the stairwell."

"Oh, my god," Lily moaned, clutching at James hand. James pulled her closer, placing the hand he held in the other so he could wrap his arm around her.

Sirius looked down, looking guilty for some reason. "He never knew about our way of life. Not until Hagrid delivered his letter to him when he was eleven. He was told you died in a car crash. Led to believe you were drunk."

Lily swallowed thickly. "How could Petunia do this?"

"Honestly, Lil, I think it's a miracle she agreed to keep him," Sirius said, looking at the woman with sympathy. "He very well could have died otherwise. The wards, the protection spells--"

"Are all linked to the bond of my blood, I know," Lily finished. She knew the spell she had placed on her own son.

"He is a sixth year at Hogwarts," Sirius said, trying for a slight change of subject

James looked up. "What--"

"Gryffindor," Sirius replied without even hearing the rest of the question.

"I was going to ask what friends he has," James said a moment later. Then he broke out into a wide grin. "But Gryffindor, eh?"

Sirius shrugged, his own grin matching his friend's. "Oh. Well, his best friends would be Arthur and Molly Weasley's youngest son, boy by the name of Ron, and a bright Muggle-born girl called Hermione. He also seems relatively close with Neville Longbottom and Ron's younger sister, Ginny."

Lily smiled slightly, having known Molly Weasley for a while when she had worked with St. Mungo's. "Girl?"

Sirius shook his head. "Not that I've seen. I think he was seeing a girl, but it seemed to have gone sour."

"What is he like?" James asked softly, almost reverently.

Sirius' grin widened. "Bright. Brave. Ability unlike I've ever seen. Loving. Gentle. Funny. Kind. Very kind."

Lily smiled broadly, looking to James. Her husband squeezed her hand, beaming back at her.

"Sad," Sirius continued, breaking the happy cloud. "Burdened. Lonely."

Lily's smile died. She sighed. "What has life done to him?"

"He's Seeker for Gryffindor," Loves the game. Talented. Could make a career out of it."

James raised an eyebrow. "Seeker, eh?"

Sirius nodded. "Flies exactly like you."

"He's sneaky. A Marauder at heart."

"Trouble maker?" Lily said, casting a look at James. "Our son?"

Sirius chuckled. "Not so much trouble maker. He's more of a…trouble fighter. Uses our Map and your old cloak to find ways around the rules."

James frowned a bit. "Trouble fighter?"

Sirius shifted, scooting to the edge of the bed and resting his elbows on his knees. "Either by fate or chance, Harry always seems to be facing down some manifestation of evil. He's been face to face with Voldemort at least twice."

Lily paled. "Voldemort?"

"First time in First Year," Sirius said with a nod. Then he paused. "Well, I guess it would technically be the second time, eh?"

"Tell us," James commanded softly.

"Voldemort didn't die," Sisrus explained. "He lost his body, became a sort of shadow. Albus hid the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone at Hogwarts for safekeeping. Voldemort went after it, living parasitically in Slatero Quirrel. Harry saved the Stone and held of Voldemort."

Lily's outh fell open in shock. "Incredible."

Sirius smiled slightly. "His Second Year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened by a memory spirit of Tom Riddle. Harry defeated a basilisk and the spirit of Riddle."

James stared at his friend, arms hanging limply at his sides. "I don't know whether to be horrified or really proud.

"I've settled for both," Sirius replied with a flippant shrug. "He saved me in his Third Year. I escaped to find Peter and Snape ended up botching it all. He produced a Patronus--"

"As a Third Year!" Lily nearly shouted, bringing hushes from both men.

"A stag," Sirius clarified with a side look at James, who puffed out his chest proudly. "Beat back a countless number of dementors."

James shook his head in amazement. "Blow me."

"He was a champion in the Triwizard Tournament," Sirius said, sombering a bit. "Faced a dragon, merpeople, and a maze of Dark monsters. He's noble. Offered to share the victory with a friend when they both arrived at the same time. The cup was a Portkey. Took them both to a Death Eater meeting. Voldemort preformed a ritual and was restored to his body."

Lily blanched, jaw tightening. "Death Eaters and Voldemort?"

"Peter killed his friend," Sirius continued quietly. "Right in front of him."

James closed his eyes and turned away slightly. "God."

"Harry dueled with Voldemort," Sirius told the parents. They both looked at him sharply. He nodded. "_Dueled_. By some miracle, he was able to escape. With the other boy's body to boot."

Lily sighed wearily. "What happened last year?"

Sirius sighed. "He defended his cousin from a dementor. Faced scorn from the entire wizarding world when he told of Voldemort's rising. Began learning Occlumency with Snape."

"Occlumency?" Lily rfepeated, eyebrows raised.

"He's connected with Voldemort," Sirius explained. "Sees things, in his dreams. Voldemort found out, uses the connection to break into Harry's mind."

James released his hold on his wife and stood, immediately starting to pace in short strides. "Wonderful."

"James, I'll tell you now…he looked into Snape's penseive. He saw the day of our Defense Against the Dark Arts O.W.L."

James stopped mid-stride and winced. "Damn."

"Serves you right," Lily muttered, rolling her eyes.

Sirius gave his friend a sympathetic look. "He had…difficulties understanding."

"Sirius," Lily cut in, changing the subject. "You said Bellatrix killed you."

Sirius nodded. "Voldemort took his top people out of Azkaban."

She looked at him hard. "Did Harry see you die?"

He held her gaze for a moment, then nodded slowly, once. "Yes. It was an attack on the Ministry. An attempt to get the prophecy. They lured Harry there. Voldemort showed him via their connection me being tortured. It was a large battle. There were other children there, many Death Eaters. Harry fought, protected his friends. And I died."

Lily frowned. "How--"

"I don't know how he fared after," Sirius cut her off with a miserable look. "I'm as lost as you."

James retook his seat, rubbing his eyes with his hand. "He sounds…perfect."

Sirius nodded encouragingly. "He wants to know you. Badly. Most of all. Ron told me once that together they, er, found the Mirror of Erised."

"Erised?" James repeated, raising a brow. "Interesting. I saw me playing for England with Lily cheering in the stands when I looked into it back in Sixth Year."

"Harry saw you," Sirius said pointedly. "The both of you."

Lily lowered her head into her hands. It was too much. "We have to get to him."

James nodded. "I know."

Silence descended over the room.

Then it was suddenly broken by the sound of breaking glass, followed immediately by two frightened shouts.

Lily looked at the two men beside her. "Did you hear that?"


	12. A New Headache

Lily looked at the two men beside her. "Did you hear that?"

James stood slowly, gaze ticking over to Sirius. "I did."

Sirius took off first, running as fast as he could up the stairs. He reached the hall to find Tara and Willow up out of bed and looking into the room where Dawn and Buffy were sleeping. Both girls appeared to be shaken. "Er, Tara?"

"Sirius," Willow whispered, looking up. She looked him over in concern. "Are you an--?"

Just then, Lily and James arrived in the hall, both looking around completely alert. Lily focused on Willow and Tara's frightened expressions and bit her lip in worry. "What's wrong?"

"Just a sec…" Tara whispered. She motioned for quiet, then reached around and closed the door to Buffy's room. Once done, she motioned for them to silently move to Dawn's room, the room it was decided she and Willow would stay after they gave up their bed to James and Lily.

Once everyone was inside, Willow closed the door. "Okay, what in the frilly heck is going on?"

"The frilly heck?" James repeated with a frown.

"I-It was Buffy," Tara explained quietly to the trio.

Willow nodded and continued, "She seemed crazy. Yelled at us. Threw Dawn's bottle of perfume at us. Except it's sitting there and isn't broken and Buffy's asleep."

"Maybe we dreamed it," Tara suggested.

"Right, right," Willow said as she stepped further into the room, the she shook her head. "Wrong! Different brains."

"It could have been a connected dream," Lily suggested as she sat down on the edge of the bed. "But that would suggest something supernatural, as well."

Suddenly Tara gasped and pointed at the wall behind Willow. Sirius grabbed the redhead by the shoulders and quickly pulled her away from the wall that now seemed to have something moving around inside of it.

They all watched as whatever was in the wall swiftly moved up it, into the ceiling then disappeared. Willow glanced at Sirius with wide eyes. "What was that?"

Tara shivered and moved a hand up Willow's back. "Th-th-there's something in the house."

"What is it after?" Willow asked nervously. "Is it…Buffy?"

Tara glanced around at the three Brits. "It could be…"

"After us?" James finished, leaning against Dawn's dresser.

"Bugger," Sirius muttered. "We just got back."

Willow looked around at the anxious faces, then pushed her way past Sirius and Tara. "That's it, I'm gonna call. I hope Xander's up."

She grabbed the phone on Dawn's nightstand and started dialing. Sirius and James walked up to the wall, each looking at it intently. "Hmm," Sirius murmured. "This seems off."

"Not a ghost," James said in agreement. "Doesn't feel that way."

"Xander, it's me, Willow," Willow said into the phone as she sat down on the bed beside Lily. Tara knelt on the floor in front of Willow while the redhead held the phone so that the other two girls could hear. "We were just attacked."

They all turned and watched as Willow listened to the voice at the other end of the line. Then she shook her head. "No, it was Buffy. Or something that looked like her."

"Like she was possessed," Tara added.

Willow nodded as she continued. "And then she just disappeared, a-and, and we saw something…a little…there's something in the house."

The girls fell silent as they listened to the phone. Sirius tried his best to hear, but couldn't quite make out what was being said. He figured it must have been something about himself, James, and Lily, because Lily answered. "No, we don't have any idea, but James and Sirius are working on it."

Then Willow suddenly jerked away from the phone and Sirius could make out the slightest bit of a very far-off shout. Almost as soon as she had jerked away, Willow was back on the line again. "Xander? Xander?"

"What was that?" Lily asked in a low voice.

Tara shook her head slightly as Willow listened desperately on the phone. "Xander! Something's wrong."

"Should we go over?" James asked in concern.

"Maybe, I don't--Xander!" Willow shook her head as she smiled in relief. Then she frowned in concern. "Oh, my god. No. Yes, of course."

Willow hung up the phone, then looked at them.

Sirius almost choked. He knew that look. He had worn it himself so many times. "What's wrong?"

Willow took an unsteady breath and looked up. "It's Anya."

"Very bad," Xander said emphatically. "Very, very, very bad. Bad."

It was about three hours since the incident with Willow, Tara, and the not-really-Buffy had occurred. Xander and Anya were there with Anya's face thankfully intact. They were all outside in the backyard sitting around in the lawn furniture, enjoying the Southern California morning air while discussing the shocking events of the night. Lily, James, and Sirius joined the Scoobies, as they called themselves.

Anya rubbed his back soothingly from her perch on Xander's chair arm. "He's all traumatized."

Willow, who was sharing her seat on the wooden ottoman with Tara, shook her head. "Well, whatever it is, it's not the-the traditional haunting, because i-it's not limited to one specific place, and there's not, you know, a dead person."

Tara quirked her head. "Not any more."

"I bet it's a hitchhiker," Anya stated.

Xander looked up at his girlfriend. "A hitchhiker?"

"Um, standard way to travel through dimensions," Anya explained. "Uh, some demon-thing sees someone moving between worlds, and grabs on for the ride."

Sirius looked over from his seat across from Willow and Tara at James and Lily, who were on the other wooden ottoman, well, James was on the ottoman and Lily was in James' lap. They both looked back at him.

Willow continued, not noticing their concern. "You mean like, some hell-beastie rode in with one of them? Like…we're responsible for this?"

Tara stiffened. "Assume crash positions."

"No," James said, shaking his head. "No, it wasn't a hitchhiker."

Xander sat back, eyeing James carefully. "You got something to share with the rest of the class, Jimmy-boy?"

"I just don't see how it could have been," James explained. He turned to Willow and Tara. "You said you used the Plea to Osiris to do this?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah."

Sirius shook his head, baffled. "That spell is too specific for hitchhikers."

"Aren't you three hitchhikers?" Tara asked in a soft voice. "I mean, w-we only called for Buffy. Not that we aren't glad it turned out with you guys, but…well…"

"No," Lily replied honestly. "That's not what happened. We weren't in Hell."

"But we weren't in heaven," Sirius pointed out. "We were between."

Xander frowned. "Could it have been something else that came from the…between?"

James shook his head. "I doubt it."

"So what do we do?"

"It could be any number of things, but the fact that it took the form of Buffy is telling. What did you say she said?"

"I said something?"

Lily looked up and smiled. "Good morning, Buffy."

"Lily…hi," the Slayer responded slowly. "Guys."

"How, how are you feeling?" Tara asked in concern. "Better than yesterday?"

"Like I said yesterday, I'm fine," Buffy replied with a grim sort of smile. "We should worry about them. Are you okay?"

Sirius raised his cup of tea to her in an odd sort of toast and smirked. "Well, better than dead, which is a plus."

Buffy toasted back awkwardly with her cup of coffee before turning to the group at large. "So what did I say?"

"It wasn't you," Willow explained a bit nervously. "It was just something that looked like you."

"Something that looked like me?" Buffy repeated doubtfully.

Anya nodded. "A demon you brought back from Hell with you."

Xander closed his eyes. Willow and Tara glanced at one another. Everyone fell silent, not quite sure what to say.

Buffy didn't seem very fazed by this news. She just glanced at Sirius and James and Lily. "Me? Not…"

"We weren't in Hell, so no demons," Lily explained.

Buffy's eyes widened a bit. "You were in Heaven?"

"No," Sirius replied, watching her closely. "We were sorta in limbo."

Buffy nodded and looked down at the ground. "Oh."

"It's not like Anya's making it sound," Willow said quickly. "A little haunting-type stuff. Boo, scary, everything's normal."

Tara nodded brightly. "You shouldn't worry about it."

"Thaumogenesis," James said suddenly.

"Bless you," Xander replied instantly.

"Of course," Sirius said, rising to his feet. "Merlin, how could we have been that stupid!"

Lily ruffled James hair, smiling at him playfully. "You're brilliant. You know that, right?"

James raised his eyebrow and looked at his wife seriously. "Of course I do."

Anya frowned. "Did I miss something?"

"Is that what the demon is?" Buffy asked, confused. "A Tyrannosaurus demon?"

"Thaumogenesis," Lily corrected. "It's not a demon."

Tara watched the trio carefully. "Then what is it?"

"It's part of your spell," James explained. "Whatever it was, it was created by your spell. That's what thaumogenesis is."

Willow sighed. "Well, that's the cue for research."

"I'll go get Dawn," Tara said as she stood.

"Yes, Batman," Xander said in a low voice. "To the Magic Box."

Lily lit up. "Magic?"


	13. Good for the Gang

A/N: Hey guys. I know, it's been a while. I have no excuse. So I'll just get right to the story notes.

Only thing I really have to say is more of a warning. Anyone who has read my other fics pretty much knows that I am not a fan of Buffy/Spike. I absolutely love Spike as a character. I don't care much for Buffy. But I loathe the idea of them together. That's my opinion. Yours may differ, and that is completely your right. But this is my story. As such, it will not be a Buffy/Spike story. Sorry, but that's the way it's gonna be. If you don't like, I ask that you stop reading right now and NOT flame me over this. Just read something else. I don't know if I'll go with the pairing that's kinda hinted at towards the end of the chapter. I might turn it towards friendship. It may go romance. I don't know.

Other than that, enjoy!

An hour later, after they had dropped Dawn off at school (at Lily's insistence) and Xander had called off work, they were at the Magic Box. James, Willow, and Tara had instantly gone to get a few books from the basement while Anya nervously watched Lily and Sirius carefully examine each and every piece of merchandise the small magic shop had to offer. Xander and Buffy just watched them with interest.

Whatever the duo had been looking for, they didn't find it. And Lily was more than a little disappointed. She leaned against the counter, drumming her fingers as her eyes wandered over the items behind the counter. "So, Wicca type magic."

"Some is," Sirius said, much more excited than his friend. He grabbed something off the shelf he was looking at and turned to Lily, holding out his hand. "Look at this though. Totally Zonko's worthy."

Anya looked at the item in his hand and wrinkled her nose. "Those things? They don't work."

Lily grabbed the firecracker, smiling gleefully. "You really think?"

"Xander's tried a dozen times," Buffy said as she and Xander joined the trio at the counter.

Xander nodded with a mock-serious expression on his face. "Lighters, matches, nothing works. We don't even sell them anymore."

Sirius took the firecracker from Lily and, grinning, placed it in the palm of his hand. Then he spat in his hand.

The brilliant shimmering display of light that followed was something that rivaled the display at New Year's at Disney Land. And yet, nothing and no one was damaged.

Anya, Xander, and Buffy watched with mouths wide open. Sirius rubbed the lingering spittle off his hand on the borrowed pair of Xander's jeans that he was wearing. "Dr. Filibuster's Fabulous Wet-Start, No-Heat Fireworks."

Xander's eyes widened and he got up to examine the box he had long ago labeled as defective. "Well, they're definitely magical."

Lily gave Xander a wide smile as James, Willow, and Tara returned from a brief trip to the basement. Lily turned to her husband, smile widening almost impossibly. "Find it yet?"

"No," James muttered as he flipped through the book precariously balanced on top of the stack of four others in his arms. He looked up to give her a quick smile, but stopped when he saw the box of fireworks in Xander's hand. "Oh, hey…is that what I think it is?"

Sirius held a firework up in front of James's face. "Spit and see."

Anya shot the duo a scathing look. "Destroy my shop and we'll see whether you're smart enough to come back from the dead twice."

"Right," James drawled as he turned back towards the book. Almost instantly his smile was back. "And yes! See, here?"

Willow tossed her pile of books aside and grabbed the one James was motioning to with his eyes, careful not to lose his place. Her gaze swept over the page, quickly soaking up the information. "Oh. Thaumogenesis."

Tara sighed. "Then the demon really is a consequence of the spell. We made it."

"We made a demon?" Xander repeated in disbelief. He shook his head. "Bad us."

Lily gave the young man a warm smile and patted him on the arm. "It's not like that."

"Well, what is it like?"

Everyone glanced up at Buffy. Buffy had been a little out of it the night before, only really showing signs of full life when there was some crisis going on. They all had noticed it. It made James, Lily, and Sirius especially uncomfortable.

Sirius gave the Slayer a nervous smile and tossed the firework in his hand over his shoulder behind the glass case. "Thaumogenesis is a consequence of doing powerful spells. A price."

"You did magic, a spell, that resurrected four people," James started slowly. Everyone nodded. "That's huge magic. And nothing is free, especially those types of things. Thaumogenesis is the world's way of balancing things, creating something opposite of what you did."

"Like what Jonathan did when he cast that augmentation spell," Willow said as if she suddenly understood.

James, having no clue to what she was referring, simply shrugged.

Anya tisked slightly as she sat down on the table. "Well, technically that's not a price. That's a gift with purchase."

Xander raised his hand high. James gave the group an odd look before pointing at him. "Why is it invisible," Xander asked as he lowered his hand, "or, you know, with the possession?"

"It has no body," Lily explained. "It has a spirit but no body. It's a shadow, a thing that can be but isn't."

"It doesn't have a body, so it's borrowing ours," Tara mused, deep in thought. "I-it borrowed Anya…"

Willow nodded slowly to herself as she softly added, "Or, or it's manifesting copies of them, like, like it did when Buffy came at us…"

"It's using them to do stuff," Tara explained to Xander and Buffy, both of whom looked lost. "To scare us, attack us."

Xander sighed as he began to comprehend what his friends were trying to explain. "So we need to uncreate it, right?"

"Well…no," Sirius said nervously. "Not the best idea."

Buffy frowned and turned to the younger wizard. "Why? What's he talking about?"

"It's the price of the spell," James began slowly. "When you get something, you have to pay the price. If you don't pay the price, you don't get that thing. Well, unless you steal. But you can't cheat at magic. If we send the demonic spirit out of this plane, the spell wouldn't exist anymore. And neither would what it did."

Willow's eyes suddenly went wide. "Like it never brought you back."

Lily shrugged. "That would be about right."

Willow frowned. "Well…that's unacceptable."

"Uh, we won't be doing that," James said in a tone that left no room for argument.

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, we're really against killing ourselves."

"Do you have anything more?" Tara asked hopefully.

"Uh, yeah," James said as he slid the books he still carried onto the table beside Anya and sat down to start work. "Several more, actually."

"Okay," Tara said nervously as she sat down across the table and took the book James indicated.

Willow watched the man start to research, taking notes on a small legal pad as he read. "So, you do this kind of thing all the time then?"

James glanced up and shot her a smirk. "Too often."

"Wicked," Willow said with a wid grin. James nodded and reached for another book. Willow immediately hopped into action. "Oh, here, let me."

Xander clapped the younger wizard on the shoulder as he and Willow joined the table. "You're a regular textbook there, James."

James shrugged even though he looked rather pleased at the compliment. "I just know my magic. Had a job once that sort of revolved around it."

"I miss Giles," Buffy said suddenly.

Lily frowned. "Who?"

"An adult friend," Xander said with a dismissive wave.

Lily, James, and Sirius all looked at Xander.

"Older, not grosser," Xander added quickly.

"He's coming back, I talked to him," Willow told Buffy, speaking in a high mothering tone. "I know we're a kind of poor substitute, but until then, we'll get it done."

"Or James'll get it done," Xander added pointedly.

"Hmm," Sirius agreed with a nod. Then his stomach growled. "Well, I think we need food."

"Ooh!" Willow looked up as she giddily bounced in her seat. "Anyone for pizza?"

"Yeah," Buffy said with a nod even though her tone was distracted. "I'll go. Need some alone time."

Willow considered her friend for a moment, smile slowly turning into a frown. "Yeah. Oh, no onions. Or pork product."

"Chicken," Buffy said. "Got it."

Then she headed for the rear of the shop. Once she was gone, everyone looked up. All expressions seemed worried.

"She seemed less depressed last night," Lily said softly.

"She was quiet all day yesterday," Tara pointed out. "Only seemed interested in you."

No one had noticed Sirius's eyes follow the blonde out of the shop. No one but James. So about a minute later when his friend pushed off of the wall and started to slip to the back, James wasn't surprised. He knew his friend well.

"I think I'll go with her," Sirius called over his shoulder as he headed towards the back door. "Just to make sure she's okay."

"Good idea," Willow called from the table.

"Hey, tell her not to get any pepperoni either," Xander shouted without looking up.

Willow didn't either as she added, "But anchovies on half might be nice."

Sirius nodded, looking completely clueless as to what he had just been asked. "Right."

Then he was gone.

He approached the Slayer noisily. He was no Ravenclaw and his intelligence may have been questioned more than once, but he certainly knew enough not to sneak up on a Slayer. He didn't actually think he would be lucky enough to return from the grave twice.

When he was finally able to see her, he wasn't surprised to find that she had instinctively cut through a graveyard, even though it was day. She was watching him, probably long before he could see her. She looked at him at first with a little trepidation. Then when she realized he came in peace, she let her fingers drift through his soft fur and gave him a small smile.

"Doggy," she murmured in a soft voice like a child. He allowed himself to enjoy the feeling of her scratching behind his ears before willing his body to morph back into a human's.

The change wasn't slow, but it wasn't fast either, and the Slayer knew something was happening long before she knew the dog before her was actually him. Early into it, she stopped petting him and stepped back, shifting into a fighting stance. He stayed mostly still throughout, trying to convey that he meant no harm to her. She didn't attack, which he was glad for.

When the transformation was complete, he shook his head back and stood, pushing his hair out of his face, then gave her his most dashing smile. "Buffy!"

"Oh," Buffy said, slightly confused as she relaxed out of her fighting stance. "Sirius."

He cocked his head and nodded. "Hi."

She nodded as she took the transformation in. Then she frowned. "What are you doing here?"

Sirius's smile faltered a bit at her passive mood. It was worse than he thought. "Oh. I, er, I was going to help you look for Pete."

Buffy nodded, then stopped, focusing her complete attention on Sirius. "Pete?"

"Pete Za," Sirius supplied as he brushed some trash off of a random gravestone. "I'm supposed to tell you not to get any pepperoni from him, but to get some anchovies."

Buffy's eyes lit up a little, and she tried unsuccessfully to cover a giggle. "Pizza is a food."

Pureblood Sirius Black could feel his cheeks warm slightly, which made him even more frustrated with himself than he already was. "Oh. Right. I knew that."

She was blatantly laughing at him now. "Don't they have pizza in England?"

"I'm sure they do," Sirius nearly growled as he scratched at his neck, trying to cover his embarrassment. "Sounds like a Muggle food, though."

"Muggle?" Buffy repeated, thinking for a moment before nodding. "Oh, right, the, um, normal people slang."

Sirius nodded. Then he watched as the light faded a bit from Buffy's eyes. She motioned over her shoulder. "Uh, the place is down this way. Unless they changed it."

"Right."

The two fell into step beside one another, though Sirius was careful to follow Buffy's lead. The Muggle town was actually quite nice for one that featured the Mouth of Hell for a tourist attraction. He had never really been in a Muggle town much before, at least not as a Muggle. Though he couldn't really call the group fate had put him and his friends with Muggles. But they weren't really like wizards or witches. They weren't even like any Muggle-born he had ever met. With Muggle-borns, they brought some traces of their Muggle life into the magic world. These people seemed to have brought the magical world to the Muggle. Though, of course, it was obvious to him that at least the redhead and the blonde were witches, probably the bo--

"That's a neat trick," Buffy said suddenly, breaking his train of thought.

Sirius glanced at Buffy, then shrugged. "Nothing, really."

"Looks like something," Buffy whispered almost wistfully.

He couldn't take it anymore. So, against his better judgment, he gave in.

"You want to talk about it?" he asked softly.

She glanced at him quizzically. "About what?"

"Heaven."

Buffy Summers froze. "How--"

Sirius took Buffy by the arm and led her away from prying ears to a deserted side-street. "It takes a person that's been to Hell to understand when someone _hasn't_ been there."

"You've been to Hell?" Buffy asked as she sat down on an abandoned plastic crate, her full attention now completely on Sirius.

"A kind of Hell on Earth," Sirius explained, leaning against the side of one of the buildings so he could face the blonde. "Azkaban prison." He shuddered as he felt the tug of dark memories threatening to come up fully in his mind from the corners he had long ago pushed them to. "It's bad."

Buffy watched his reaction with wide eyes. "I'd say."

Sirius sighed as he watched Buffy slip away fully into her melancholy, not even attempting to put up an act for him now that he knew. "You don't have the look of Hell," Sirius explained to her quietly, hoping to make a connection. "Especially when your friends talk about it. And you weren't between, you didn't know that between existed. That only leaves Heaven."

"Heaven," She repeated softly, her tone so…sad. She had a look in her eyes, a look that Sirius had never seen before and never wanted to see again. "I think. I don't understand about theology or dimensions, or…any of it, really…but I think I was in Heaven. I was happy. At peace.

"I knew that everyone I cared about was all right. I knew it. Time…didn't mean anything…nothing had form…but I was still me, you know? And I was warm…and I was loved…and I was finished. Complete."

Sirius's heart almost broke for the poor girl. For the life she had been cursed to lead. But she didn't need any sympathy or pity. She just needed a friend. Someone that would be strong for her. Help her reconnect. "And now you're here."

"I was torn out of there," she said, an edge of bitterness to her voice. It almost caused Sirius to flinch. "Pulled out…by my friends. Everything here is…hard, and bright, and violent. Everything I feel, everything I touch…this is Hell. Just getting through the next moment, and the one after that…knowing what I've lost…

All through this she hadn't looked at him. But she did now. "They can never know. Never."

Sirius nodded reluctantly. He couldn't imagine how the Slayer's friends would react if they knew. Probably very badly. "They won't hear it from me. But I think you should tell them. You need support--"

"Support?" Buffy repeated with a mocking laugh. "How could they know? How could anyone know? There's no one like me."

"That's not true," Sirius pointed out. "There's me. There's Lily and James."

Buffy sighed and shook her head. "You weren't in Heaven--"

"But we weren't in Hell and we weren't here, either," Sirius said with a bit of an edge to his voice. He didn't mean to be harsh with her but he had always had a bit of a temper. But when the words came out of his mouth in that angry tone, she looked up. And he was almost amazed to see that she was completely there again, that all her thoughts were focused on him.

He took a breath to calm himself, knowing that this might have been his only chance to reach her. "You think it's not just as harsh and bright and hard and cold here for us as it is for you? I was warm. I had no form. I had no pain or hunger or urge to relieve myself. Everything is freezing and burning all at once. Everything is bright and dark and physical. Nothing just is anymore. So maybe you're not as alone as you think."

She looked down at her hands, eyes filled with pain. "I'm dead. I don't know how to live anymore."

"Moment to moment," Sirius told her, pushing away from the wall and stepping closer to her. "Time will come when you remember. Until then, focus on a reason. Like your sister."

She sighed. It was the sigh of someone who was already exhausted. "You sound like you've done this before."

"I have," he said simply as he sat down next to her.

She looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "After hell?"

"Azkaban prison," he agreed. "It was…well, it was Hell."

"Tell me."

"It was a place guarded by dementors," Sirius told her, feeling the memories swirling around in his mind again. "Creatures that feed on your emotions. Get too close to one and you feel…it's hard to describe."

"Like you'll never be happy again," she whispered, mostly to herself.

Sirius nodded, not really surprised that she instinctively knew what dementors felt like. "Sorrow and despair and freezing cold. It drives most mad within days."

"How long were you there?"

"Twelve years."

"How did you make it?"

"The thought of revenge and of my innocence was certainly helpful," he replied, feeling no shame. "But it was James and Lily's boy in the end. He was what I held onto the most.

"Hold on, Buffy," Sirius whispered urgently, as if everything depended on what he was telling her. And he knew in his heart that for her, everything did. "Hold onto Dawn and never let go."

A/N: Reviews are appreciated!


	14. Personal Demons

James slammed the book he had been perusing the last twenty minutes down on the table in front of Willow, causing her to jump a little. He didn't really care. "Ah. Here we are."

Tara looked up at the wizard with her bright eyes wide in surprise. "You found it?"

"Yes," James said proudly, pointing to a passage in the book for Willow's benefit. "Thaumogenesis is temporary."

Xander, however, did not understand this concept. "Huh?"

"The subject of thaumogenesis will dispel after a time," James explained more carefully. "It's a price, but prices aren't permanent."

Anya nodded her agreement emphatically. "Just look at inflation."

James started to nod, paused, then shot the ex-demon a confused look. "Not really what I meant."

"Yes," Willow murmured, then smiled excitedly as she glanced up at the assembled group. "It's all here, like you said. The only way for it to survive on this plane is if it were to kill the subject of the original spell."

Tara thought this over then looked up at James. "It would live if it killed you, Lily, Sirius, and Buffy?"

"Well, not us," Lily spoke up from her seat at the table. "We weren't the specific ones called upon in your spell."

Willow frowned and looked at the redhead, eyes filled with a small bit of panic. "You're not temporary thaumogenesis, are you?"

Lily smiled a bit at the redhead's concern, then shook her head. "No. It seems to me that we were raised by some influx you made within the original spell."

"Some type of mispronunciation of words," James agreed. "I'd need a copy of the spell to be sure."

"So the demon will only live if it kills Buffy?" Anya asked slowly.

James looked up at her and gave a small nod of his head. "Mm."

Suddenly Xander's gaze shot up, revealing white eyes and a menacing expression. "Thanks for the tip."

They all watched wide-eyed as Xander hit the floor as the demon left him. Then Lily sighed. "Oh, bugger."

The reaction was instant. Anya knelt down to help Xander. Tara made for the phone to try and call Buffy. Willow, however, like Lily looked first to James. "What do we do?"

James was silent for several long moments before coming to a conclusion. "We have to give it a body."

Tara paused mid-dial and looked up, surprised and confused. "Um, won't it be able to kill us faster that way?"

James hesitated before shrugging and nodding. "Well, yes, but most importantly we, or, um, Buffy, can kill it."

"Okay, good idea," Willow muttered as she made for the spell ingredients, then paused and turned back. "Except…how do we do that?"

"I-I'm not sure," James admitted as he started to feel the panic rise within him. "I don't have my wand."

Xander, who was by now back up in a chair, sagging heavily against the table, looked up in exhaustion. "Where can we get one of those?"

James shook his head. "No clue."

Anya looked up as she rubbed Xander's back, frowning at the situation. "Grey Skye's sells used wands. But if you go there, you might as well send a 'We're Back' card to You-Know-Who."

Willow threw Anya a confused look. "Don't you have one?"

"They can't use mine," Anya told her as if stating an obvious fact. "More likely to just cause Buffy to explode. And I'm not really very strong in magic anymore. I can freeze and do some other low-level things, but nothing like this. Don't you think I would have contributed long before now if I could?"

"What about wandless magic?" Lily suggested to her husband gently.

James glanced around wildly, nearly cursing his stupidity. They were, after all, in a wandless magic store. "Um, uh, yes, yes, there's a spell for thaumogenetic entities, but I don't think we could do something like that after being dead for so long."

"Uh, we could do it," Tara suggested immediately.

James snapped his fingers and nodded. "Right. Um…"

"Hurry!" Willow snapped impatiently.

James rolled his shoulders nervously. "I'm thinking."

"Think faster," Lily urged gently.

James nodded, then turned to Willow and Tara. "It would be listed in Miredices' _Underwor_--"

"Got it," Willow interrupted as she headed towards the stairs to the loft.

Tara set about grabbing some spell components behind the counter as James turned to the other two witches in the room. "Okay. Lily, Anya, lots of candles."

They went to their task and Xander looked up from the table. "What do I do?"

James glanced at the man and drew a deep breath. "Know any good prayers?"

Sirius Black and Buffy Summers walked through the sunny graveyard in companionable silence. Buffy was thinking over Sirius's words. Sirius was trying to think of how he could give the Slayer the emotional support she needed.

"_You don't belong here."_

The words were faint, but said with such malice that they cooled the very air around him.

Sirius stopped in mid-step and turned to Buffy. "Did you hear that?"

Buffy looked around with wide eyes, fists balling as she slipped into a fight stance. "Uh…"

Then he saw it. The white swirly mist that seemed to come upon them from out of nowhere. The spirit of the demon. "Buffy!"

The spirit might have only been made up of mist, but that mist packed a powerful punch. It hit him hard in the jaw, sending him sprawling in the small alley.

"Sirius, stay down," Buffy told him as she shifted her body weight expertly, becoming a predator before his eyes.

She took a swing at the thing but her fist went right through it. She was suddenly struck, and she barreled back against the wall. She turned again, ready to strike back, but once again her fist went through.

"Oh, bugger it all," Sirius breathed as he pushed himself back up to his feet. He looked around and saw that the mist had vanished.

"Where is it," Buffy whispered, mostly to herself as she slowly turned.

"_Did they tell you, you belonged here?"_

The words came from nowhere, but their shill seemed to seep into his blood.

"This is nice and creepy," Sirius found himself muttereing as his gaze darted around for any sign of the thing. It suddenly materialized behind the blonde Slayer. "Behind you!"

"_Did they say this was your home again?"_

Buffy whilred around and reached up, seeming to grab what looked like a hand. But her grip closed into a fist as the mist dissipated and the demon again disappeared.

"_Were you offered pretty lies, little girl?"_

Buffy met Sirius's gaze and he shrugged. He had never been more in want of his wand than he was at that moment.

The demon once again appeared just behind Buffy, this time grabbing her before she could turn.

"_Or did they even give you a choice?"_

"Buffy!" Sirius's eyes widened as in front of him the demon began to squeeze the life from the Slayer.

"You're sure this won't kill Buffy?" Xander asked as Tara and Willow took their positions on the floor.

"No, I promise," James reassured the man. "If it dies on our plane, it's different than sending it away."

Xander did not look convinced. "But--"

"Quiet!" Lily hissed at the pair before turning to the room and flicking her hand. The multitude of candles they had laid out suddenly lit, setting the mood perfectly for the spell. "They need to concentrate."

Willow and Tara stared off into space and began chanting the words James and Willow had agreed upon.

"Child of words, hear thy makers. Child of words, we entreat. With our actions did we make thee. To our voices wilt thou bend. With our potions, thou took motive. With our motions came to pass. We rescind no past devotions. Give thee substance, give thee mass."

Sirius jumped up and did the only thing he could do. He ran full speed into Buffy. He succeeded in knocking her from the demon's grasp, but caused both of them more than a little bit of pain as they both went crashing into the pavement. Sirius, still not up to par after his time spent first in Azkaban then on the run then being dead, was dazed. Buffy though, immediately jumped back up on her feet and grabbed a pice of pipe that had been lying near the garbage.

"Buffy?" he questioned, not sure what she meant to do with the pipe since the demon was made up of mist.

"_You're the one who's barely here. Set on this earth like a bubble."_

Buffy swung at the demon and stumbled when she connected with nothing but air.

"_You won't even disturb the air when you go."_

"It isn't working," Lily whispered to her husband as she watched the two Wiccans in front of her chant.

"It will work," James repeated as he watched the pair of Americans intently. "It has to."

Lily could practically feel her nerves twisting. "James, Sirius is out there with her--"

"I know," he cut her off gently, still staring at Willow and Tara.

The two girls seemed to

Then James felt the nature of the spell begin to shift. It had been very light, the pure energies of Willow and Tara slowly swirling through the room. But at that moment it started to turn. It started to become something that James was trained to fight against.

"James?" Lily said fearfully, signaling to him that she felt it too.

"Child of words, hear thy makers," Tara continued for a moment alone, before breaking off to stare at the still form of Willow. "Child of words, we en…treat…"

James rocked on the balls of his feet as he felt the magics around him swirl and the energy darken. Then Willow opened her eyes, completely black throughout. "_Solid._"

James felt the acrid heat of black magic burn through him before he and Lily hit the ground.

Sirius was thrown to the ground as a sudden wave of dark arts tore through him. "Buffy!"

She didn't pay him any attention for, quite suddenly, the floating misty-thing became corporeal. And it was ugly. And mad.

But Buffy took this all in stride and set forth quickly to beat the thing to death with the pipe.

"Shit!" Sirius swore as he watched the Slayer pummel the demon into oblivion before ramming the sharp end of the pipe through the demon's chest.

Sirius stared as the demon went down.

"You okay?" Buffy asked as she turned and held her hand out to him.

He nodded as he accepted her help up to his feet. "That was some magic. You did good, Summers."

"Yeah," Buffy said as she looked down at the dead demon. "Great."

She quickly dumped the body in one of the dumpsters that lined the alley, then started once more towards the pizza place. Sirius frowned. "Shouldn't we tell them you killed the demon?"

"You wanna go back there without food?" Buffy asked giving him a pointed look.

Sirius considered her point and almost gulped as he imagined the consequences. "Good point."

Anya looked around from where she was standing. "Does that mean it worked?"

James pushed himself up as he cautiously looked around the room. "Yeah. It worked."

"Wow," Anya said as she frowned at the slight mess in her shop. Then she turned and started for the phone. "I'll call Buffy's cell."

James sighed as he reached down to help his wife to her feet. When she was up, she turned to lock her frightened eyes with his. James knew what had scared her. It worried him too. Something they had both felt before had gone through the shop.

"Hey, you two okay?" Tara asked, breaking their silent communication.

"Uh, yeah," James replied as he looked past the blonde to the perky redhead behind her.

"It worked," she said, beaming brightly at James. "Gotta tell you, we would've still been searching for hitchhikers if you guys hadn't been here."

James felt a fear take hold of him as he imagined the oily blackness that was slowly creeping into the bubble of brightness that was Willow.

Xander threw a playful arm around Lily and gave he a brief squeeze. "Good to have you around."

"S-so, uh, does, uh, d-does," Lily stuttered as she tried to shift back into a relaxed and triumphant state, "does this mean we're in the gang now?"

"Guys, Buffy got it," Anya called to them as she listened attentively to something being said over the hand-held. "They're bringing the pizza, too."

Willow turned to them and smiled. "So, whadaya wanna do now?"

James was still too shaken to answer.

"Well," Xander drawled slowly as he looked at the pair. "You've been dead for fifteen years. Wanna go rent a bunch of movies?"

Later that evening, Sirius Black watched the young blonde Slayer who had saved his life sit on her back porch, watching the sun sink slowly beyond the horizon. She seemed so…alone. Her arms wrapped around her knees, her face set, her eyes empty. And Sirius felt a great sadness take him.

"You're not going to tell them, are you?" he asked quietly as he leaned against the rail behind her.

She didn't turn when he announced his presence. Like she knew he was there, and didn't care. She just answered in a firm tone, "I'm going to thank them tomorrow morning."

Sirius fought the urge to inhale sharply. "Thank them?"

"For pulling me out of Hell," she clarified. Then she tilted her ace and looked directly in his eyes. "They can never know."

He fought the anger that surged through him when he met those empty eyes head on. "Someone should."

Something changed, something small. A bit of life filtered into her clear eyes. Enough to give him hope as she softly murmured, "You do." Then it was gone and the emptiness was back. "It's too much for you to know. You're the only one."

Then her gaze turned fierce. "Promise me."

He hesitated and briefly toyed with the idea of refusing. She needed help. But forcing a bunch of overzealous friends on her wouldn't help. If anything, it would only hurt. "As you wish," he conceded reluctantly. "But you'll be telling them a lie."

She nodded and turned back to the sunset.

"You don't have to do that," he pressed on, trying to drive some sense into her.

"I know," she replied carefully.

He rolled his eyes and pushed off from the rail, feeling the tired frustration set in. "You shouldn't do that."

"It's not fair to ask them to bear that burden," she told him emotionlessly.

"It's not fair to make you live it," he pointed out.

Buffy didn't seem fazed. "But I do."

"You do," he agreed with a small sigh as he remembered those early days right after Azkaban. "Life goes on. The little things will come, Buffy. But don't just let yourself walk through it. Good things in life don't come unless you seek them. The things worth living for are hard earned."

She didn't seem convinced. "And what is worth living for?"

He looked at her, willing her to look up at him. "Your friends did what they did because they were selfish. Because they needed you."

She stared stubbornly at the ground. "They need the Slayer."

"And Dawn?" he asked. That caused her to fidget a bit and he knew he'd found his way in. "She needs her sister. Lily and James weren't in Heaven, Buffy, but if they had been, I'd still have had Willow do this. Their son needs them."

"To live," she said as she hugged her knees tighter against her. "To live a hard life. He should die and get it over with. Move on to the next."

"What is our purpose in life if not to experience it?" he asked her seriously. "When a child dies, we mourn, because it did not have a chance to experience the good in life. You have been given a chance to experience the good again. The pain. The harshness. They come with the good. But the good is there all the same."

"The good isn't here for me," she protested even though he could see his words were having some affect on her.

"No," he told her slowly, racking his brain for something wise to say. Since he wasn't actually all that wise, he settled for just telling her what he knew. "The good isn't there…not if you don't want it. The only person that can make yourself happy is you, Buffy. No one else."

She looked up at him then and he could see the glassy eyes that held unshed tears reflect in the moonlight. He smiled at her then stood. "I can't make this any better for you, Buffy. If you want to live in this hole of depression, then you will. Only you can change your life."


	15. Anyanka’s Most Terrible Mistake

A/N: Okay, basically I'm playing with timelines again here. There's a sort of flashback to a scene to the Fourth Season BtVS episode 'The Yoko Factor'. So as not to give too much away, let's say that episode really happened a month later then it did and that the fight at Giles' apartment occurred midday instead of in the evening. Oh, and Dawn is there because it's from a character's POV and they remember Dawn always being there even though they now know that isn't true.

---

Sirius Black had been alive for five days, well, the second time around. The first day he had been unconscious for. The second day, he had spent with friends, both brand new and extremely old. The third day, he had made an odd connection based on Hell-type experiences with a vampire Slayer and then helped her battle a demon (okay if he was honest he would admit that he practically was no help at all, but that was unlikely to happen, especially since James was being credited with saving the day). The fourth day, he had watched that same sad vampire Slayer lie to her friends and put a happy face on to mask her sorrow.

That day, the fifth day, started more normally than any of the previous days had. He awoke on the fairly comfortable bed that was made from air and something the Muggles had called plastic feeling more like his old self. It was nice and bright outside and the light shone through the window in a way that told him it was a good hour in the morning. He rose, yawned, and stretched, then turned and started to clean up his bed. He folded the blankets, pulled the plug on the mattress, then turned, grabbed a new set of clothing Xander had supplied him a few days before, and headed for the bathroom, leaving the mattress to deflate on its own.

There was a line for the bathroom, as usual. Dawn was awake though still in her pajamas waiting rather impatiently, knocking on the door every few seconds and calling out to Willow desperately. She smiled and greeted Sirius when he took the place behind her. They exchanged a little small talk about what she was studying at her Muggle school, something about a man called Eye-stine or something. He smiled as he spoke with the young girl. In an odd way, she reminded him a bit of Harry. They had many similar personality and background traits, both having difficult and trying pasts, both with large burdens on their shoulders, both practically orphans, both compassionate and caring, both brave and true…he could have gone on and on.

Then Willow exited the bathroom. Dawn squealed and leapt inside. Willow and Sirius exchanged a few friendly words. Then she headed downstairs, already prepared for the day. Sirius watched her go as worry filled him. She was a very sweet girl and a talented witch. She reminded him in many ways of Lily, in others of little Ginny Weasley. But he knew what he had felt the night before. Though they had not spoken of it, he could see in James and Lily's eyes the night before that they had felt it too. And he had been shocked when he had felt the remnants of that blacker than black spell in the spunky little redhead…

Buffy passed by him, ready for the day as Dawn came out, now dressed as well. Buffy gave Sirius a small smile and he nodded to her supportively as Dawn launched into a talk about something to do with a leak in the basement. He watched them head downstairs to go and confront said leak before stepping into the bathroom.

He went through the routine Lily had set up for both him and James their first day in the Muggle house. He shed the flannel pajama bottoms and t-shirt he had been sleeping in, clothes that had again been provided by Xander Harris, and showered. He had been surprised to find that Muggle showers were nearly identical to wizard showers. The only difference had been the strange potions the girls of the Summers house used to wash with. He finished quickly, then dried off. He used the strange Muggle contraption that blew hot air to dry his hair like Lily had shown him, wishing once more for his wand. Then he dressed in the strange Muggle pants the others called jeans before pulling on and buttoning the blue shirt. Then he took a few minutes to look at himself in the mirror. He was looking a lot better than he had before, even better than he had been before he died. And he was looking a lot less old, something for which he was grateful. He was only thirty-five and he hadn't cared for looking like he was fifty. He still had a ways to go, that was certain, but it was better.

He exited the bathroom to find Dawn once again waiting outside, this time drenched from head to toe. Before he could ask, she grumbled something about a flood in the basement and shoved past him into the bathroom. He stood there for a moment, thinking about it, before shrugging and heading for what was quickly becoming James and Lily's room.

They were both there, dressed and ready, the bed half-made and them snogging beside it.

Sirius smiled and cleared his throat at the sight. "Don't let me interrupt."

They broke apart, Lily red with embarrassment, James smiling cockily. James then turned and grabbed for a pillow as he resumed making the bed. "You love to interrupt, Padfoot."

"Well, there's that," Sirius said as he sat down in the chair in the corner of the bedroom. "So, Dawn said there's a flood in the basement."

"Oh, dear," Lily sighed as she turned to face Sirius, now much more composed. "Is it serious?"

Sirius shrugged. "I didn't ask much, the poor girl was drenched."

Lily chuckled as she, too, grabbed one of the pillows and turned back to the bed. "She's cute."

"That she is," Sirius agreed, not offering to help them make the bed. Instead he watched Lily carefully. "You seem to like her."

"We have a few things in common," she said with a small smile as she fluffed the pillow in her hands and placed it on the bed. With the bed made, she turned to Sirius, this time more solemn. "So, I was thinking yesterday. Sirius, I think you should write Albus. Anonymously if you must. We need to meet with him."

Sirius considered this for a moment before giving a small nod. "Albus is the best choice, I guess."

"Or Remus," James suggested as he sat down on the bed facing Sirius, careful not to mess up it up. Then he looked down at his hands, and reluctantly began, "If Remus is--"

"He should be alive and fine," Sirius interrupted quickly to allay his friend's fears.

James gave a small sigh of relief. "Thank Merlin."

Sirius nodded before turning back to Lily. "How am I supposed to write, though? It isn't as if the Magic Box sells owls."

"I think you should speak to Spike about it," the redhead suggested. "He seems fairly knowledgeable about our world. He might know where we can find one."

Sirius sighed. "Do you really think we should leave them now, though?"

James looked over at his friend and frowned. "What do you mean?"

Sirius hesitated. "I…"

James then sighed too, as a dark look came over him. "You felt it as well then."

"She's turning, James," Sirius said simply. "And fast."

James rose to his feet and walked to the window, lines of frustration and concern wrinkling his forehead. "I agree, Sirius, but I just can't say with any certainty what the best course of action is."

"The feel of her aura, though, is pure," Lily said softly before giving her husband a hopeful look. "Perhaps there is still time."

He turned to face her, shaking his head. "It would be easier if we had more of a timeframe. If exposure was in the last year, maybe. Any longer than that…the addiction is too strong for most, Lily."

"All three of us owe that girl our lives," Sirius told them, putting a good deal of weight behind his words.

"A resurrection, Lil," It's never been done before. Never."

"Voldemort," Lily suggested.

"Doesn't count," Sirius dismissed instantly. "He was never really dead."

"And every resurrection spell I've ever seen is darker than dark," James said.

"If we get a hold of Dumbledore…I'm certain he could help her," Lily said in a sure tone. "Even if it means taking her to Hogwarts."

Sirius raised his eyebrows. "Away from her friends?"

"Better that than…" Lily trailed off, unable to finish the thought.

Sirius sighed again. "I just don't think we should leave any of them, not now."

"But…" Lily murmured as she considered his words. "I know how you feel, I like them too, but there are people out there that need us more. We need to get Harry. We need to help the Order. This is war, we can't just sit back here."

"I do want my son, Padfoot," James said simply.

"I want to go back, too," Sirius told the pair, "but this is complicated."

"They're young yes, but not any younger than we are," Lily said, then frowned. "Or…uh…"

Sirius chuckled as he watched the redhead. "Than you are and I was, you mean."

"That is so strange," James said as he pushed his glasses up his nose. "You're older than us."

Sirius dismissed it with a laugh. "Never you mind it, I'm still pretty much emotionally where you are now. Azkaban doesn't allow for much growth."

"I'd imagine," Lily said, wincing. "But Buffy is their leader and I'm sure she is more than capable of helping Willow, especially with the help of Tara, Xander, Anya, and Dawn."

"Buffy?" Sirius repeated in disbelief. "You're joking. It's bad enough what she has to deal with now, but add in this with Willow--"

"What she's dealing with now?" James broke in suddenly.

Sirius fell silent as he realized his mistake.

But James wouldn't let him off the hook that easily. "What are you talking about, Padfoot?"

Sirius sighed as he looked up at his friend. "I promised her I wouldn't say anything."

"Sirius, what is it?" Lily asked as she stepped closer to him.

He just looked away.

James was surprised and a bit disturbed at Sirius's silence. "Is it that bad?"

Sirius looked up at the man. "Worse."

"Sirius, if it's that bad then you need to help her," Lily told him, ready for an argument.

"I can't help her," Sirius replied wearily. "I don't think anyone truly can. And she sure as hell doesn't need those friends of hers making it worse. They've done enough already."

James furrowed his brow in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Sirius sighed. Even though he had promised her, he knew he couldn't keep it back any longer. "Buffy wasn't in Hell."

But this just confused Lily and James even more.

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

Sirius rolled his eyes and pushed himself to his feet. "Oh, come on. Don't you see it? She's so traumatized. About being here. As if this were somehow Hell."

They both got it at the same time.

"Oh, god," James muttered as he raised a hand to his hair.

Lily was extremely disturbed. "They didn't."

"They did," Sirius said simply. "Buffy Summer's friends pulled her out of a heaven. She's not capable of dealing with much at all right now much less an untrained witch playing with the Dark Arts."

"What are we supposed to do?" James asked testily. "They aren't ours to deal with--"

"But we owe them!" Sirius nearly shouted. "You can't seriously be considering just leaving them to deal with it all."

James rolled his eyes at him. "No, I want to help them, but--"

"But what?" Sirius asked him, frustration hitting its limit. "You'd honestly do it, wouldn't you? You'd leave them here, on the Hellmouth, with all this Darkness preying on them from the edges and run off to satisfy your own selfish urges?"

"Selfish!" James repeated hotly. "Harry needs us! The Order needs us!"

"Harry thinks your dead!" Sirius roared as his temper snapped. "He has no memory of you! What little he does know about the both of you, he knows from me and Remus. He doesn't even know that much about you to even miss you that much! He doesn't need _you_, if he needs anyone he needs _me_. But he thinks I'm dead and by now has grieved and moved on! And the Order doesn't need either of you or me. It functioned perfectly well without us before and will continue to do so long after we're dead again. If anything, we'd cause problems, not help."

Sirius felt the anger leave him suddenly and it was instantly replaced by regret as he looked into James's angry eyes. He closed his eyes and sank back down in his seat, unsure of how to fix yet another mess his short temper had started.

Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder, rubbing soothing circles around it. "It's okay, Lily murmured in his ear. "It's okay, Sirius."

He opened his eyes and met the striking green eyes of the one woman he would do anything not to hurt. "I'm sorry. I had no right to say that to either of you. Of course Harry needs you, and he misses you more than anything just as I did--"

Lily just gave him a small understanding smile, even though he could see the hidden pain in her eyes. "Sirius, I'm happy you love him enough to worry how he'll take this. And to be afraid we'll take him away from you."

Sirius shook his head. "I'm not afraid of that. I want him to need you more than me. It's all I ever wanted for him, for both of you to be with him, safe and happy."

She furrowed her brow as she looked at him. "Then it's something else?"

He shrugged miserably. "The Order doesn't need us, but Buffy…and Willow, they do. I'm almost a waste of space back home. But they need me--"

At this Lily's somber expression vanished and a look of surprised delight came over her. "Oh, my god."

Sirius frowned and looked at the witch. "What?"

She nearly squealed as she smiled brightly at him. "Oh! Merlin, I had no idea…"

Sirius was starting to get exasperated. "Lily, what?"

"If you don't know now, I'm not telling you," she said playfully.

"Lily…" Sirius nearly growled.

The redhead just laughed at him.

"It's no use," James said, finally breaking his silence. Sirius looked up at his friend, surprised. James just gave him a small smile. "Not when she's like that."

"James, I'm sorry," Sirius began but was cut off by a look from James.

The other man just widened his smile. "Never you mind, Padfoot."

"Let's go down for breakfast," Lily said as she practically skipped from the room.

Without saying another word, they all three left the bedroom and headed downstairs. They got there just in time to see Anya storm out of the house, followed closely by Xander. Lily glanced back at the boys, expression almost comical, and they both shrugged. Then they headed for the kitchen.

Buffy was there, alone. From what Sirius could hear, he figured Willow and Tara were in the living room. The Slayer turned to face the trio as they walked into the kitchen.

"Anything left?" James asked as he surveyed the dishes piled next to the sink.

"Yeah," Buffy said as she motioned to the cereal box and milk laying on counter. "The basement is flooded."

James frowned. "Really?"

Buffy nodded. "Mmmhmm."

James promptly turned and went down into the basement to observe the damage himself. After a moment of hesitation, Lily followed.

Buffy shook her head at them, then looked up at Sirius and gave him a small smile. "Cereal good for you?"

Sirius nodded at her, smiling himself. "Great, thanks."

He watched her set to work, getting out the four items a bowl of cereal required, She glanced up at him as she worked. "So I heard some yelling. You guys aren't fighting are you?"

Sirius flinched. He hadn't realized they'd been so loud. "No. It's just…it's complicated."

Buffy sat the box of Fruit Loops down on the counter and looked at him with serious eyes. "Talk to me, Sirius."

He met her gaze and gave her a kind smile. "You have enough problems without me adding to them."

"Actually, this is kinda nice," she admitted, and he took the moment to appreciate how much better she was that morning than she had been the previous night. "I don't have to think about me when you talk."

Sirius sighed at that comment, wondering if she truly was better at all. "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Buffy paused for a moment as that distant look started to come over her. "I…I'm not sure."

Then James and Lily reappeared, Lily smiling at Sirius in a strange way when she saw him and Buffy. James, though, wasn't acting crazy like his wife. Instead, he seemed concerned. "That's fairly bad."

Buffy nodded. "Yeppers. And because of that, I'm gonna have to go out this morning. Plus, I have a few things to do."

"Things?" Sirius repeated suspiciously.

"Errands," she clarified. "Daily house stuff. No big."

"That's good," Lily said as she sat down next to Sirius. "You should get back into the swing of things."

She hesitated and then gave them a guilty look. "Well, thing is, Willow and Tara are going to class and, uh, Dawn's already gone to school. Xander has work so, uh, well you can stay here or go to the Magic Box or whatever you want, I guess--"

"We'll go to the Magic Box," James broke in smoothly. "We need to speak with Anya anyways."

Buffy flinched at that comment. "Well, just to warn you…she's been acting a little…off."

Sirius nodded, then shot her a suspicious look. "Off how?"

---

Anya was a little off. Even she knew that. She was mad at Xander. Stupid male with his stupid insecurities and stupid proposals and stupid ring. But as angry as she was with her would-be fiancé, he was not the reason she was so anxious.

She dropped what had to be the twentieth book of that hour. It, like all the ones that had come before it, was no help at all. Either the spells were so advanced that she couldn't do them, out of practice as she was, or they were even more useless than the glamour she had been using for the past three years. Once again, she wished for her old powers, even though she knew she didn't really want to be a demon anymore. It had just been a lot easier then. She could do almost anything with very little effort. So was the power of the Wish. For twelve years it had been simple to hide what she didn't want anyone to see, not even other demons. At first it was because of embarrassment, embarrassment that she had lowered herself to become involved in what had turned out to be yet another worthless pathetic mortal matter, even though other demons had done it too. But later, well, later things had been different. She wasn't a demon anymore, she wasn't so powerful that she could overcome those that would be her enemies with little more than a laugh and a word. And now, well, now she was ashamed.

Anya was getting desperate.

"Anya? We're here!"

She turned sharply at the sound of the friendly greeting and barely had time to get herself under control before Lily, James, and Sirius were standing jovially before her. She took a small breath and then smiled brightly at them. "Hi!"

James smiled back at her, giving her a suspicious look that Anya almost lost her cool doing before turning to the books she had piled on the table. "Glamour magic?" he murmured, intrigued, as he picked up the book she had just dropped onto the stack. He raised his eyebrows as he read what she had been looking at. "Trying for something new?"

"It's for Dawn," Anya told him quickly Little teen needs something to cover her prepubescent zits."

"I think I'd go with something simpler for that," Lily said as she eyed the fairly advanced books on the table. "This is a little too advanced for an untrained, even for the Key."

Anya nodded as she walked around the table to the matching suit jacket she had left slung over one of the chairs, even though she basically ignored every word the redhead said. She pulled it on, then turned to smile brightly once more at the group. "Right. Well, you know, I wanted to be thorough. Never an unsatisfied customer."

Sirius glanced at her, frowning at the jacket. "Are you cold?"

"Oh, uh, yes, very cold," she replied with a firm nod.

Sirius shook his head and muttered, "I'd be burning up."

Anya ignored him and turned her attention back to Lily. "What are you doing here?"

"Buffy sent us over," she explained. "She had to do some errands and I don't think she wanted us to be bored or anything."

"So, what can we do to help?" James asked as he sat the book back down on the table.

Anya frowned as she considered what she could have them do to make her more money. "Well, uh, can any of you work a register?"

"I can," Lily volunteered with a smile.

Anya frowned even harder as she examined Lily. "Well, I'll need to see you do it before you can fondle the money."

Lily laughed at the former demon and shook her head. "Relax, Anya. I was a clerk at a bookshop in my village during the summer breaks. I can manage easily."

Anya was not convinced. "Well, we'll see." then she turned to look at the boys. "You two, well, you can clean the shelves and restock anything we might be running low on. Stock is down in the basement."

James frowned at her suggestion and motioned to the books. "Wouldn't you rather us put these back?"

"No!" Anya nearly shouted at him. "Restock, take some inventory…amuse yourselves. I'm going to go in the back and get some things. Because this is my store and needs to stay nice and tidy. If anyone comes in, yell for me."

With that, Anya walked back into the training room, waiting until she was out of the trio's sight before dropping her calm façade. She slammed the door shut behind her, leaning against it to make sure it would stay closed.

She very much liked James, Sirius, and Lily and knew that they could become her friends like Buffy, Willow, Tara, and Dawn were her friends. She enjoyed having friends very much and knew she would enjoy having more just as much. And she felt a little bad lying to them, which was knew for her. But she couldn't tell them the truth. She couldn't tell them the glamour was for her, to replace the weak glamour that a First Year could break without trying. They would want to know what she was hiding and now more than ever no one could know.

Anya had been a witch some thousands of years ago. She had then turned demon. When she became human again, at first she was disgusted. And stuck.

She hadn't known what to do. As a demon, she had used magic, but it had been a different form of magic then the kind that mortals could wield. She couldn't really go back to being a witch, she was so out of practice. Well, except for a side of magic she knew better than to start using as a mortal. After all, she didn't want to end up in Azkaban. So she had stayed in Sunnydale as a mortal Muggle child. And she hadn't considered going back even once. Not with things standing as they were.

The real change had come over a year and a half after she became human. She had been dating Xander for about a year. She had been helping him and his friends defend the Hellmouth for a little less than that. She hadn't noticed her changing opinions. If someone asked her exactly when she had changed, she couldn't answer them. But she knew when she had realized the change. For something happened that night she never in a million years ever expected to happen.

It was during the fight. The big one. Not the battle-type fight. The verbal fight between Xander, Buffy, Giles, and Willow. The one where they almost stopped being friends. She had been in the bathroom, waiting for the fight to end with Tara and little Dawn. Dawn had been very scared, being only thirteen at the time. She and Tara had been uncomfortable.

They had talked about things, trying to break the awkwardness. They had discussed the bathroom tile. They had promised Dawn they would take her out for ice cream after it was over. Anya had been bored and frustrated and tired. Then she had felt it.

She didn't remember everything about how she had reacted. She remembered yelping in surprise. She remembered making a few pained noises, cause it was a bit painful when you weren't expecting it ever again. Those noises were toned with the fear she felt explode in her. And she had been afraid, that day and everyone since then. She had been terrified.

Anya had stumbled out of the bathroom and into the hall, needing to get away from Tara and Dawn's confusion and concern. The others were still fighting in the main room of the apartment, so she couldn't escape just yet. So she had done all she could do as her thoughts and emotions begin to spin wildly out of control. For, instead of being overjoyed and going immediately back to her place, she had been sad. Extremely sad. For she knew what would come next for the people of the world. And that was when she realized she was different than the person she had been.

She had leaned back against the wall and slowly slid down to sit on the floor as Buffy yelled at Xander and Willow down the hall. She could hear their words…

_Is that it? Is that how you can help? You're not answering me! How can you possibly help?_

But they didn't really register with her. Instead she had just stared at the wall opposite her and let the tears stream down her face as she thought of the storm coming.

And it had come. But she hadn't gone back to it. No matter how bad the rumors had become, she had stayed in Sunnydale. For many reasons. Some of it had to do with her own safety. She had been scared for herself and she still was, from all sides of what was happening. But she had mostly been scared for Xander. And for Dawn. And Giles. And Buffy. Spike, Tara, even Willow. That was when she had gone up to Los Angeles, to the branch of the Gregorovitch shops off of Ventura Boulevard. She had bought herself a new wand, just in case, and always kept it on her. But she hadn't used it, not ever. Even when it could have made her life and the lives of her friends easier. Even when it could have saved her life. She was still too frightened at the prospect of being found. And not until she had realized it was Sirius Black in front of her had she ever even considered using it. And then it had been because she saw her worst nightmares coming to be, a Death Eater in Sunnydale.

She sighed as the worry came over her again. She shrugged off her jacket, relief sweeping through her as the cool air hit her bare arms. Lily was right, it was way too hot to be wearing a jacket. Anya was sweltering. But she didn't dare take it off in front of the three recently resurrected Brits. Even though the small glamour she had on herself had never failed her in front of Giles or Spike, she still didn't trust it in front of the Potters and Sirius Black. It was because of the risk. If Giles or Spike had seen, well, it wouldn't have mattered near as much. But if any one of those three saw…it could mean Anya losing her soul, no matter how different she knew herself to be.

She waved her right hand over her other arm and muttered the charm that would break her feeble glamour. "_Aparecium_."

Then Anya watched in guilt and a little self-loathing as the ugly black skull with the snake coming out of its mouth slowly appeared on her left forearm.

---

A/N: Sorry if Sirius's outburst seems a little off, but I think it's appropriate. Not that he isn't thrilled with Lily and James being alive, but it's more complicated than that. I like resurrection fics, but most of them usually involve immediate happily ever afters. As we saw in BtVS, that isn't nearly the case, even when someone wasn't ripped out of heaven.

A lot of people make the joke "wand up the sleeve" with Giles being suddenly a wizard in many crossover fics. When I did it with Anya, I guess people just thought I was playing on the joke. I was, but there was also a plot point to it. ;) Who saw that coming?

Also, she didn't know Sirius was originally a Death Eater. I know. It's well-established in canon that not all Death Eater's knew who else was one too. For all that Anya knew, Sirius was a Death Eater too.

Please **REVIEW**, and let me know what you think.


	16. The Ripping Snake

A demon had attacked Buffy while she was at the bank. Lily had found this news strange and oddly disturbing at first, but when no one else reacted oddly, she guessed that sort of thing happened to the Slayer all the time. When she thought of it herself, she had to admit that Gringotts had been attacked a time or two at height of Voldemort's power. But still, to be doing errands and suddenly be attacked…it took her back to a time and place she would rather not think about.

Instead, she focused on the positive. She had enjoyed the day working in the Magic Box. True, there wasn't much in the way of mainstream, ready-made wizard products. Not that there wasn't anything genuinely magical for sale in the store. Actually everything was genuine. It was a rather nice supply shop that could have probably made a killing in Diagon Alley with the variety of items they carried. It made Lily feel more at home than she had since returning to life, which was saying something. But it was a bit odd, selling the store's merchandise to its mostly Muggle clientele. But all of them seemed to know what they wanted and needed and didn't say anything negative to Lily when she made her own suggestions. She even had a very nice conversation with a forty-year-old postal man that needed a spell to ward away dogs. It was almost as if the line between Muggle and magical didn't exist in Sunnydale.

Anya was a bit odd though. After Lily had successfully demonstrated that she could handle ringing up sales, she had been far less hover-y. In fact, she seemed to be avoiding her and Sirius whenever possible. And she absolutely refused to go anywhere near James. Her personality was odd enough. All she talked about was money and sex. Her blatant honesty was something Lily appreciated though, having something of a streak of that in her herself. But as the day wore on, Anya got twitchier being alone in the shop with the three of them. It only got better when Xander came back from work.

The best part of the entire day was the silent understanding she, James, and Sirius had come to. Though they had all been happy to be back together again, it had been very awkward at first, an awkwardness that had lingered slightly since then and nearly exploded earlier when they had discussed going home. But working side by side with a clear purpose to the day…it had done more to set the three of them at ease than anything else could have. Ever so slowly, they had slipped back through time and Lily would almost swear that nothing had passed between them since the last time they had seen each other before the Fidelius Charm was cast. Lily was happy for that awkwardness to be gone. She very much looked forward to getting James back to the house that night and putting the newfound lack of awkwardness to better uses…

Dawn tripped near the table at the front of the store, dropping the books she had piled in her arms. Yes, Dawn had returned from school a couple hours before, as had Willow and Tara. And Willow had brought with her a surprise for James. A new pair of fairly trendy thick-framed black square eyeglasses. Her poor husband had been making do, but he nearly leapt for joy when Willow presented them to him. Apparently, she had gotten his prescription by magic, a spell James had been familiar with as it had automatically reset the prescription on his old pair as needed. And Lily had to admit, the square frames suited him better than the old ones had. Though she knew the moment he could, he would switch back.

At that moment, the entire group was at the Magic Box, researching the demon that had attacked Buffy. Xander and Anya were at the table in the back of the shop, surrounded by the various books they had been flipping through…and apparently in the middle of a very tense whispered discussion. Willow was in the back in the training room trying to calm down what seemed to be a slightly emotional Buffy. Sirius and James were up in the loft, loudly discussing whatever it was they were looking for…well, okay, so they were actually shouting at each other, each thinking he knew the solution to this new demonic threat better than the other.

Lily moved from behind the counter to help the fallen Dawn, but was beaten to it by Tara, who had also been gathering books in that part of the shop. So Lily shifted her direction and instead went to the table where Xander and Anya were suddenly not whispering together anymore. They actually weren't doing much of anything together anymore. They weren't even looking at each other. The tension was literally so thick, one could cut it with a chainsaw.

Lily gave them a cautious but concerned look as she sat down next to Xander, worried for them but not wanting to overstep her bounds and stick her nose into the private affairs of the couple. "Are you two all right?"

Xander glanced up at her and shot her a nervous smile as his right hand began to play nervously with the pages of the book in front of him. "We're fine."

Lily held his gaze for a moment before glancing down pointedly at his hand. "You don't look fine."

"Well, we are," Anya backed up her boyfriend in a tone that stated that they were definitely not fine and she wanted everyone within a three block radius to know about it. "Fine. Fine and terrified of commitment."

Lily blinked, knowing full well what that phrase could mean. But before she could say anything, James and Sirius came down the stairs, their arms laden down with books which they were glaring over top of at each other. "What?"

Xander looked up in relief as the two men approached the table. "Find anything?"

Sirius shot James a particularly nasty look as he let the books in his arms tumble to the table. "No."

Lily smiled as she watched James pull a face at Sirius. If the boys were comfortable enough with each other to bicker, then they were completely relaxed with one another.

James turned his glare from Sirius to look down at the couple seated at the table, frustration reflected on his face. "So, Buffy seems upset."

Xander dismissed James's concern with a wave even though he shot the back room of the shop an anxious glance. "Don't worry everything is fine. Just need to find this demon."

"Why was Buffy at the bank?" Sirius asked as he took the seat on Anya's right and grabbed for a book.

Xander shifted uncomfortably before muttering, "She just was."

James nodded as he stepped behind his wife's seat. "You know, I've been thinking…once we find this demon…well, we've been alive for about a week now. And while we are fond of all of you…"

Xander obviously understood, for he finished, "You're looking to find your own families and friends."

James sighed and nodded. "Right."

"Well," Xander said reluctantly, "It makes sense. Guess it was too much to hope you'd all settle down here. Sleep on the living room floor permanently."

Lily felt the pain of the impending separation of her new friends, but it wasn't a hard choice, however reluctant Sirius's crush on Buffy made him. "We'd like to, well, er, not really, but…"

"We understand," Anya cut in, getting a little twitchy again. She didn't seem comfortable talking with them, about anything. "We should talk about it, you know, after we find the demon."

"Well, we'd better get cracking then," Sirius muttered as Dawn and Tara approached the group.

"Oh come on, Tara," Dawn whined, crossing her arms as Tara sighed and sat down next to Lily at the table. "I am so old enough to do research. Do you really think I'm not mature enough?"

Tara paused and gave Dawn a patronizing look. "I think you're very mature for your age…but you're still only fifteen."

"Right, fifteen," Dawn said as if this was her point entirely, "as in _teen_ager. You know, if you don't let me look at the pictures, I'm gonna learn everything I know about demons on the street."

Lily smiled at the girl's spunk. While Lily would have argued that she was a little immature in some regards, she never thought children should have been out of the loop when it came to situations that involved them or their loved ones. Lack of information had nearly cost Harry his life a time or two, according to Sirius. Something about Molly Weasley.

Apparently Sirius shared the same thoughts, for he came to Dawn's defense. "Harry was rescuing people in evil wizard's clutches at fifteen. Or trying to."

Tara shot him a look before rolling her eyes and reluctantly handing Dawn a book. "Knock yourself out."

Dawn accepted the book before sitting down next to Tara, giving Sirius a grateful smile. "Thank you. See? No biggie. I can totally handle it."

She opened the book and looked down, her smile fading into a look of confusion. "That's a weird place for a horn."

As Dawn's confusion melted into a numb sort of shock, Lily looked up to see Tara barely biting back a smile. Dawn closed the book, looking at the table in a far-off sort of way. "That's not a horn."

"You know, I still don't get it," Xander tried to distract Dawn with a little too much energy. "I mean, what kind of a demon would rob a bank?"

"The kind that wants money," Anya said in an obvious tone of voice.

Xander frowned. "What do you even call that?"

"This?" Dawn asked as she held up another book, turned to a page with a small drawing on it. The teeneager gave them a hopeful look. "I'm guessing on how you say it. It's got an apostrophe. I think it's MmmFashnik. Like 'Mmm, cookies.'"

"Or maybe, Muh-Fashnik," Xander suggested. "Like Muh…Fashnik."

James's eyes lit up as he took the book from Dawn. "An M'Fashnik? Really?"

Dawn gave Xander a smug sort of look. "See?"

At that moment, the back door opened and Buffy and Willow started to come over toward them.

Dawn grabbed the book back from James. She looked very happy to be presenting her sister with her find. "This your guy?"

The two girls walked up to stand behind James, Buffy giving Dawn an incredulous look. "You do research now? Want a cappuccino and a pack of cigarettes to go with it?"

Dawn narrowed her eyes slightly at her sister. "Would you just look at the picture?"

"If it is, there's a spell for him," James told Buffy as he rubbed his chin in thought. "Calls for…Sirius, wasn't there a Mephistopheles Stone in the basement?"

Sirius nodded and stood as realization came to his eyes. "Yeah. Saw it this morning when we took inventory."

"Show me," James demanded.

Lily rolled her eyes as the boys bounded for the stairs to the basement, giddy at once again being right before everyone else.

Dawn looked entirely too smug herself. "Well, demon's found…right?"

"That's him," Buffy said in an emotionless voice. "Big bad. Is this spell the kind that takes his power, 'cause this thing…was…strong…"

Buffy trailed off, eyes fixed unblinking on something behind Lily. As Buffy started to walk towards whatever she was staring at, Lily turned to…

"Oh god, Buffy…"

…to find the Slayer hauled into the arms of a man who looked extremely familiar. Lily blinked hard, knowing that she knew this man who was holding the Slayer to him in disbelief and joy.

"You're alive. You're here. And you're still…remarkably strong."

Lily smiled a bit as the Slayer rushed to release the man, with many apologies of course. And as the man smiled down at the blonde girl in awe. And as Lily saw that smile, she was rocketed back through time and space to the Charms classroom at Hogwarts. She was twelve and already showing a great aptitude for the field. And the sexiest boy in Slytherin House was her own personal tutor in the advanced work she was already doing…

Rupert Giles. Slytherin, Pureblood, Watcher, her friend of many years before the unfortunate incident leading to his self-expulsion from magical society, was standing just a couple meters away from her there in the Magic Box in Sunnydale, California fifteen years after her death.

"Willow told me, but I didn't really let myself believe it."

He hadn't seen her yet. She realized that instantly. He only had eyes for his Slayer. She was glad for him. He looked a bit haggard, a bit older than he should, but she understood that with the stresses he'd been through, he was lucky to look as young as he did.

"I take a little getting used to. I'm still getting used to me."

He was clearly overjoyed to see Buffy alive. Lily said nothing, did nothing, not wanting to interrupt what she knew to be a very momentous occasion for Slayer and Watcher…and perhaps, she thought as she examined the obvious bond between the two, daughter and father.

"It's, uh…you're…"

This man was very different than the boy she had known. Even though he had been five years her senior, she had always seen him as an immature child. He had been a bit of a tough-guy at Hogwarts, that was certain, and he and his gang had been notorious. But, unlike most of the Slytherin gangs, if students didn't bother them, they had mostly not bothered other students. They even showed some other people respect. Lily had been one of them. But Rupert had by no means been nice.

"A miracle."

The man in front of her was soft, in both speech and manner. Though she caught fleeting glimpses of the boy she knew in his obvious power of stance, he was so different. He'd…grown up.

"Yes. But then, I always thought so."

At that exact worst moment, Sirius came back up from the basement, examining a large blue-ish green crystal ball-like stone in his hands. "Hey, Summers, do you think you might be able to use this…"

Sirius trailed off then froze as his eyes found the new person standing in the room. A look of confusion flashed across his face before shocked anger settled there. "Rupert Giles!"

Rupert looked just as surprised as Sirius did, but the surprise melted into a look of cold fury that reminded Lily exactly of the boy she had known. He turned to stand facing Sirius, rage emanating from him. "Sirius Black."

Lily rolled her eyes, knowing that even if she pointed out her existence to Rupert at that moment that she still wouldn't be able to stop the fight coming. As much as she had been respected by Rupert up to the point of friendship, Sirius and the other Marauders had been down at the bottom of that totem pole.

The others were surprised by the recognition between Rupert and Sirius. Buffy furrowed her brow in confusion as she looked from one furious man to the other. "Giles, you know Sirius?"

Rupert didn't look at her, but did address her slowly in a dangerously low voice. "Buffy, get Dawn out."

"I agree," Sirius bit out as he stared back at Rupert, every bit as livid as the Watcher was. Lily sighed and stood. The Marauders had been a force to contend with in Hogwarts, that was true. And the animosity shared between them and the group of Slytherins that consisted of Severus Snape, the Lestrange brothers, and Narcissa Black had been bad. But the Marauders had had the upper hand in that rivalry. So even more hated were some of the older Slytherins, and that included Rupert Giles, who had gone out of his way with his friends to pick on the younger Gryffindors.

Lily knew this had the potential to get very bad indeed.

Rupert's eyes flashed as he glared at Sirius. "Murderous lion."

"Demon-worshipping snake," Sirius bit out back at him.

Buffy barely had time to step between the two before they pounced on one another. "Whoa, guys, chill."

Sirius finally broke eye contact with Rupert to send Buffy a frantic look. "Summers, this man is a dark wizard."

"Don't listen to him, Buffy, he's a murderer," Rupert countered instantly. "He killed his best friends."

Lily pounced on the opening opportunity had given her before it could pass and stepped closer to the Watcher. "Is one of those friends supposed to be me?"

He looked over at her, probably expecting someone like Willow or Xander from his annoyed and frustrated expression. But when his eyes landed on her, he froze

Lily simply smiled at her old friend. "Hello, Rupert."

Sirius gave a small grunt as he tried to jump on Rupert while his attention was diverted only to be stopped by Buffy.

Rupert didn't notice. He only looked at Lily with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Lily."

Lily raised an eyebrow, enjoying a little the look of absolute shock on Rupert's face. "How've you been?"

Rupert just wasn't getting over that shock anytime soon. "How?"

Lily nodded her head toward Willow with a small smile. "Your little American witch."

"But…but…"

Then James came up from the cellar, a jar of some kind of herb in his hands. "Hey, I think I found…"

Her husband trailed off as his gaze settled on Rupert. He stopped and frowned. "Oi, don't I know you?"

Rupert's eyes widened again. "Potter!"

Then James connected the pieces and became as murderous looking as Sirius still was. "You! You're that Slytherin git five years ahead of us! The one that was always hanging about with Lucius Malfoy!"

Rupert reered back as if he had been punched. He sneered at James, obviously insulted. "I never!"

Lily sighed. She really hated having to be the voice of reason in the boys' pissing contests. "No, James, he wasn't part of Malfoy's group."

James blinked then scowled in Rupert's general direction. "Not a Death Eater?"

Rupert lost the fire as his eyes went cold, which Lily knew to be worse than the anger. He hissed out between clenched teeth, "Not bloody likely."

"No, that's right," James murmured as his memory came back to him. "You hung around with those idiots Henry, Randall, Butcher, Page, and Rayne."

"Rayne?" Buffy repeated in surprise. "As in Ethan?"

"Giles, what's going on?" Willow asked in confusion.

Rupert suddenly remembered their audience and visibly made an effort to cast his emotions aside and put on a brave face for the others. "Uh, I was at school with these three. They were several years below me, though."

"You went to magic school?" Willow more accused than asked.

Sirius snorted at Rupert's explanation, ignoring Willow entirely. "Didn't let that stop you from making our lives hell."

Tara, too, was obviously a little hurt by Rupert's apparent lack of information. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Rupert didn't hear a word as he once again took a menacing step towards Sirius. "If you and your bloody ignorant friends hadn't poked your noses where they didn't belong--"

"HEY!"

Buffy had had enough. She stepped between Rupert and Sirius, a hand on each of their chests. She looked at them sternly. "Don't make me send you to different corners. I'm still getting used to the being alive again. I'm sure Sirius is, too."

Rupert seemed to sober a little at this. "I'm sorry, Buffy. This is just…"

"A little much?" Buffy finished eyes full of understanding.

"That's a bit of an understatement," Rupert muttered. He motioned towards the door to the training room, eyes never leaving the Slayer. "Could we, um…"

"Of course," Buffy said.

Lily smiled as watcher and Slayer headed back to the rear of the shop to have a more private reunion.

Sirius frowned. "Scream if you need us."

---

---

Sirius Black was shocked, angry, and afraid. Rupert Giles. Of all the people to walk through the door of the Magic Box, it had to be Rupert Giles. If fate wanted him to suffer, why not send Snivellus? Sirius thought he would have almost preferred the greasy potions master to the Slytherin that had come.

He whirled around, seeing that Tara, Willow, Xander, Anya, and Dawn were watching him, James, and Lily carefully, as if they'd turn on the three of them and side with Giles if they needed to. That thought didn't sit well with Sirius. "How the hell do you lot know Rupert Giles?"

Willow seemed more amused than anything, reflecting Lily's mood. "Giles is Buffy's Watcher."

James was no happier than he was, and his eyes narrowed in doubt as he repeated, "Watcher?"

"You know," Xander explained. "The person who trains and guides the Slayer."

James gave the boy a look. "I know what a Watcher is. I just never imagined Rupert Giles as the type to join the Watchers Council."

Xander seemed to be a little put off at James's implied insult. "Well, he did. And he's been with Buffy since we were sixteen. In a lot of ways, he's kind of like her dad. And like our uncle, I guess."

Sirius didn't care if Rupert Giles was their Lord Savior incarnate. "I don't like it. He's a monster."

Dawn just gave Sirius a small smile, having obviously, Like Lily, already decided to just stay out of it and be amused by what she could be. Fifteen year old brats. "He's Giles."

James gave the young girl an incredulous look. "You never hear all about his old Ripper days?"

Lily's expression darkened as she shot her husband a look of warning. "James, we have all changed as we grew. Or need I remind you how cruel you used to be?"

Willow seemed to have learned to just accept the animosity and be amused, like Dawn. "So, you went to school with Giles. Knew him when he was tinier and all."

Lily smiled and shook her head. "We only met him when he was about sixteen. He picked on James, Sirius, Remus, and Peter a good deal."

Xander frowned at that. "Remus is your all's friend, right?"

Lily smiled warmly at the mention of Remus. "Yes. A very dear friend."

Sirius couldn't help but agree. He remembered his friend. The love and devotion of the old werewolf to his friends, his serious, calming nature. Remus was actually a gentle spirit, and Sirius sometimes wondered how he ever could have suspected Remus of being anything but his loyal friend.

But the thought of Remus brought a dark foreboding to Sirius's heart. If he were completely honest with himself, he would admit he was very frightened for Remus. While Sirius had indeed spent twelve years in a literal hell on Earth, he had no doubt that the twelve years between James and Lily's deaths and Sirius's exoneration, at least exoneration amongst the Order, had been much harder on Remus than it had ever been on him. Azkaban had been horrible, yes, but it had had a certainty in its own strange way. Sirius had always known what to expect of the day. He had had his sanity and a decent routine.

But Sirius had only lost three of his best friends that fateful Halloween. Remus had lost all four of his _only _friends. They had been ripped from him so suddenly and they had been his only companions in life. His family was long since dead, and with his condition… When they had been reunited, Sirius had been shocked at Remus's appearance. He had only been thirty-three, a young man, but he had aged almost twice that. Of all the Marauders, Remus had been dealt the worst fate. He had been the only one left behind. Twice, now.

Sirius was almost terrified at the thought of what Remus would do to himself. He knew that the werewolf would never do anything so extreme as suicide, but his friend had long been a master at punishing himself emotionally. He would blame himself, Sirius knew. He already blamed himself for what had happened fifteen years previously, as irrational as it had been as he had had absolutely nothing to do with it. His only hope was that Harry, Dumbledore, the Weasleys, and the rest of the Order would keep the last Marauder grounded.

"And Peter?" Tara asked with a small contemplative frown, breaking Sirius's worried train of thought.

All three of the trio hesitated.

"He's a not-so-dear friend," Anya took the liberty of answering for them.

"Right," Sirius confirmed as his thoughts took a darker turn.

Peter. The fourth Marauder. His friend and brother for so many years. The hatred that burned through Sirius for Peter was almost a tangible thing. He longed to meet his old friend once more…for the final time.

At the edge of his thoughts he was aware that Xander was attempting to lighten the conversation and turn the topic back to something more immediate. "Giles was a bully, huh?"

James snorted. "A right nasty git is more like it."

Lily smiled at her husband indulgently. "Well, not so much a bully, per se, as he was a…rival. He was in Slytherin House and we were all in Gryffindor. Traditionally, Gryffindors and Slytherins do not mix well."

"Giles doesn't seem like a Slytherin to me," Anya said with a frown as she sat back in her chair and folded her arms. "More like a Ravenclaw. A very stuffy Ravenclaw."

Lily nodded her agreement. "Rupert is very smart and I'm sure the Hat considered Ravenclaw for him."

Dawn watched this exchange in confusion. "Are we supposed to understand this?"

Lily shot the young girl a smile. "No. There are four Houses at Hogwarts. They're like dormitories, but more. You take your classes and meals with the other members of your House. When there are competitions, they generally are played between the Houses. And most of your free time is spent in your House common room. Do you understand?"

From Dawn's expression, she obviously didn't. But she nodded anyways. "A bit I guess."

"There are four Houses, like I said," Lily explained, "Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw. We were in Gryffindor. Rupert was in Slytherin. Gryffindor and Slytherin have a very long history of animosity."

"They're evil," James murmured darkly.

"Oh, shut it," Lily snapped exasperated. "I happen to like Rupert. He was always very helpful when it came to Charms tutoring."

Sirius rolled his eyes at the thought of Lily needing tutoring in Charms. "What did you need tutoring in Charms for? It was your best subject. The subject you later took a job in."

"She had a crush on him," James said with a sour look on his face.

Lily instantly went red and she crossed her arms in front of her as she glowered indignantly at her husband. "I did not! Okay, maybe a little. But I was eleven!"

Tara smiled at this exchange. "So he was nice to you but mean to the boys."

Lily didn't stop glaring at James, but replied anyways, "They brought it on themselves, I agree with Rupert. They were a little wild back then. Still are now. But you know how it goes. One side strikes. The other strikes back harder. The other retaliates even harder. And so on."

James gave a long suffering sigh. "But he was a demon worshipper, Lily. He was nearly convicted for murder!"

"The Eyghon thing?" Willow asked, surprising them all.

Sirius looked at the little redheaded Wiccan in shock. "You know about that?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah, we helped him kill it for good a few years back."

"Ethan!" Xander shouted as if he had finally remembered something. "You knew Ethan!"

Sirius shrugged. "Last I heard, Rayne was in Noraagast Prison."

"Noraagast?" Dawn repeated. The poor girl really was completely lost.

Anya took that explanation. "It's an American prison for wizards and witches, I think somewhere near Las Vegas. Fairly fluffy compared to Azkaban, the prison in Great Britain."

James threw Sirius a glance. "When was Rayne sent to Noraagast?"

Sirius shrugged again as he tried to think back to the conversation he had had with Remus at Grimmauld Place about their former adversary. "A year or two ago. Remus heard about it from Mad-Eye Moody, who had heard it from someone in the Ministry. Something to do with him changing people into demons. Fyarls, I think."

Willow looked up, eyes sparkling with excitement. "Ooh! That was here! That was us!"

Sirius raised a brow. "Really?"

Dawn latched onto this, something she could understand. "He changed Giles into a Fyarl demon and Riley, Buffy's ex, he was with this branch of the military that studied demons. Riley took him away somewhere."

Sirius nodded as she confirmed what he had heard. "Noraagast."

"So you were there when Giles started going all Ripper-y," Xander said, now completely interested in the information they might have to offer. "And for the Eyghon thing?"

Lily frowned. "Well, yes and no. The thing with the demon, that happened several years after he left Hogwarts, after he had started training as a Watcher, while we were still in school. We only know about it because the trials were fairly high profile."

"Trials?" Tara repeated with slightly wider eyes.

"He was arrested," James explained. "They all were. Ethan Rayne, Thomas Butcher, Philip Henry, and Diedre Page. They were charged with tampering with the Dark Arts, channeling black magic, summoning harmful demonic spirits, and manslaughter."

"Of the guy who died, right?" Willow asked as she obviously latched onto the word 'manslaughter'.

"Albert Randall," James supplied. "He was actually a distant relation of mine."

Sirius nodded. "All of them were from fairly well known Pureblood families. It was big news."

Xander gave a low whistle. "This is a new side to the story."

"They got away with it though, all of them," James muttered a little resentfully.

Sirius almost agreed. As an Auror, he believed in a very black and white view of Dark wizards and witches. While he was well aware that grey existed, more so than James most times, he sometimes couldn't afford to acknowledge the grey in his line of work. But Albert Randall had gotten himself killed in what was an unfortunate accident. Rupert Giles had obviously learned his lesson well from the death of his friend, and the week spent in Azkaban and public disgrace was enough punishment for tampering. Especially seeing as how he had made a decent life for himself battling the Dark Arts.

"Because it was only a minor infraction," Lily defended with a warning look at James. "They never should have even been arrested at all, much less spent the week they did in Azkaban. Only reason they were was because of timing."

Dawn frowned. "Timing?"

Lily grimaced. While the promise to "explain later" hung in the air between the Muggle-living group and the witches and wizards, Sirius knew that they would avoid burdening their friends with the full horror of the truth unless it was absolutely necessary to do otherwise. Sirius had learned long ago that unless it involved him or his loved ones directly, it was sometimes better not to know. And he seriously didn't want to drag in these innocents just for his sake.

Lily was very tactful with her explanation. "It was a pretty bad time to be a suspected Dark Arts practitioner. It was the middle of a war we were waging against a dark wizard. After the trials, almost all of them left our world and started living Muggle. All but Thomas Butcher and he was treated with such scorn and disdain, I can scarcely blame them."

"Well, he was eventually able to get his good name back," Sirius added the information Lily wouldn't be privy to since she had been dead. "He works in the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, Muggle-Worthy Excuse Committee, or he did until he died several years ago. Quite a mysterious death too."

"That was cause Eyghon came back and started killing them all off," Willow explained. "We stopped it just in time to save Giles and Ethan. Not that we cared whether we saved Ethan, big pain in the neck. Literally for Buffy. He put the Mark of Eyghon on her to try and get the demon to kill her instead of him."

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Yikes."

"Shut up," Dawn suddenly whispered, looking towards the back of the shop.

They all turned to see Rupert coming out alone, jacket in hand. Before Sirius could ask if Buffy was still alive, Anya threw her arms suddenly around the old Slytherin. "Giles!"

He groaned at the impact of her embrace, giving Sirius a little bit of satisfaction.

"We're so glad to see you," the girl continued to gush. "We missed you."

Then suddenly her demeanor changed and she released Giles to give him a very hard look. "You can't have the store back."

Giles seemed to have been anticipating this. "I know."

"You signed papers," Anya continued.

"I did," he said with a nod, looking about for some kind of escape.

Lily gave him one. "So, Rupert."

Giles looked over at Lily and smiled widely. "Ah. How are you doing, Lily?"

Lily smiled back just as widely. Sirius rolled his eyes. He remembered well Lily's friendship with the older Slytherin. Weird one that she was.

"I'm good," Lily told Giles happily. "Better than I think I should be."

"James?" The Watcher asked, turning his attention to them. "Sirius?"

Sirius gave Giles a dark look. If he thought that Sirius was going to be his best pal now to put on a show for the others, Giles was in for a surprise. There was no way he was--

"I don't like either of you, never have, but I do respect you and what you've been through. I ask again: how are you coping?"

Okay, maybe Giles didn't want a show.

"Dandy," Sirius muttered with all the warmth of a popsicle.

Giles sighed and shook his head as several emotions played out on his face. He seemed very tired. "I just…I can't believe it…of all the people to be raised…"

"They're hitchhikers," Anya said pointedly.

James rolled his eyes. "For the millionth time, we're not Hitchhikers."

"How did you manage to be raised?" Giles asked, as if it just then occurred to him that Willow would have had no reason to raise three strangers from Britain.

"Big ole mystery," Willow replied. "We only asked for Buffy. Not that we weren't pleased to help Jim, Lil, and Sirius."

Giles nodded then shot a look at James. "Did you…"

"We can't find the problem either," James admitted reluctantly. Sirius knew that his friends wouldn't want the Slytherin's help anymore than he would. "At first I thought it might have been an influx, but that would have called forth people specific to the anchors."

Xander was completely lost. "What?"

James ignored him. "We're still researching the various speech patterns that could have caused the alteration."

Giles took this all in with a nod and thought it over with a frown. "It's odd that the three of you came back together, though. If it were a matter of varied speech patterns, then it would have raised random spirits."

Sirius shot James a smug look. "That's exactly what I said."

"Well, we could just write it off on fate, but that doesn't sit well with me," Lily muttered.

Xander nodded sagely. "It was all the will of the Force."

Sirius frowned at that. "The what?"

Xander's eyes bugged out. "You've not seen _Star Wars_?"

Though it sounded faintly familiar from one of his Muggle Studies lectures, which Remus had actually passed for him using his half-Muggle status, Sirius had no idea what the boy was talking about. "I don't know. What is it?"

Unfortunately, Lily's patience was about shot. "Focus, please."

"Did you consider the Urn?" Giles asked, not distracted by Xander's momentary interruption. "If the markings on it were even slightly off…"

James shrugged. "It was destroyed, but that is a possibility."

"Mercury was in retrograde that night, so you know…" Tara added meekly.

Giles snorted. "It's a wonder all hell didn't break loose with you, then."

"Oh, we weren't in Hell," Lily was quick to reassure her friend. "We were in a Purgatory like dimension."

"Which is why we're not Hitchhikers," Sirius told Anya pointedly, though it was a little bit of a lie. While they weren't Hitchhikers, it didn't matter whether or not they had been in Hell. Of course, no one had come back from Hell amongst the four of them. Though nobody but they knew that.

Xander groaned. "Can we save the fun technical magic talk that makes even Willow and Tara frown for later? Cause we do have a demon to kill."

Giles gave a nod. "Uh, do we have information on this new demon that I suddenly find so desperately interesting?"

"That we do," Xander replied.

"This one robs banks," Willow said chipperly.

Giles raised his brows in mock-interest. "Oh."

Dawn smiled proudly and handed the Watcher the book with the information in it. "I found him."

Giles looked down at the information and furrowed his brow. "M'Fashnik. Oh."

"You know it?" Tara asked hopefully.

"By reputation, yes," the Watcher explained. "They, they come from a long line of mercenary demons that perform acts of slaughter and mayhem for the highest bidder."

"Well, it is the American way," Xander quipped.

Giles sighed and removed his glasses. "Yes, but, uh, the question now becomes, what's out there powerful enough to control one of these things?"

Sirius suddenly remembered the stone in his hands. He tossed it playfully into the air and smirked at the Slytherin. "Simple enough to answer."

Giles glanced at him. "Oh?"

Sirius held up the blue-green stone so that Giles could get a better look at it. "Mephistopheles Stone. Easy enough to call forth the summoners with it."

Giles returned his glasses to their place and took the stone from Sirius to examine it closer. "Ah, yes. I'd forgotten."

"Out of practice, _Rupert_?" Sirius asked with an eyebrow raised.

Giles spared a moment to glance up from the stone and glare. "I left that world some time ago."

"Scared out after the trials?" James asked smugly. "Cowardly snake."

Lily winced.

Giles glowered. "Actually, my _father_ took my wand. Snapped it in half, actually. After the trials…well, I went back into the Watcher's Council training. Soon after, I was invited to join the Death Eaters."

Xander blinked. "The who?"

"A group of Dark wizards and witches," Anya whispered loudly to him. "I'll explain later."

James's still eyed the man suspiciously. "Did you? Join?"

Giles held James's gaze steadily. "No."

James instantly relaxed and adopted an apologetic stance. Sirius also felt the irritating need to give this man some grudging respect. Everyone knew what it meant to say 'no' to Lord Voldemort.

James sighed and nodded respectfully to Giles. "I'm sorry."

This sudden change in rhetoric confused the others, well, except Anya, even more. "What?" Buffy asked. "Why?"

"Because of my refusal, my mother was killed some time later," Giles explained softly.

Buffy, Dawn, Xander, Willow, and Tara all reacted with shock. Anya, who had obviously been expecting something like that, gave Giles a look of sympathy. Sirius felt badly for a moment and James, who had had good parents murdered as well, looked momentarily miserable.

"I remember," Lily took it upon herself to reply.

Giles blinked and Sirius watch him go back into his memories. "Oh. Yes, that's right. You came to the funeral."

Lily simply nodded.

Giles then went "After Mother, I wanted nothing to do with the war. Instead, I devoted myself to the Watchers Council. After Father passed later that same year, I never had any desire to go back."

Buffy latched onto the one word that was way out of place in Giles's tale of woe. "War?"

"We'll explain later," Giles repeated the overused excuse again with little thought.

James shifted suddenly, as if remembering the reason for this rather sudden turn in conversation. "Well, we'll have to wait for the moon to wane, though it needs to still be over half-way visible."

Tara was the one who came to their rescue in regards to James's implied question. "That can be tonight through Monday, I think."

Giles gave a small nod. "There you are, then."

Willow chose that moment to try and bring up a topic that she had obviously been struggling with since it became obvious that Giles knew Sirius, James, and Lily. "Giles, if…since you know James, Lily, and Sirius, and, and you said you went to school with them--"

"There were reasons I didn't tell you about wizard magic, Willow," Giles answered the question before Willow could form it into words.

She was not satisfied with this. "But--"

"Later, Wills," Xander whispered gently but firmly, giving the redhead a look.

Giles gave the boy a grateful smile and sighed again. "Well, I, uh, well, I'd better make a few calls."

"Send a few owls," Sirius muttered, knowing full well who Giles would contact first.

Dawn frowned and turned big eyes to Sirius. "Owls?"


	17. A Mother's Love

A/N: Just a quick note. While Harry and his parents are sharing the same memory dreams, they do not occur simultaneously. Just naturally in the same day whenever they go to sleep. I think there was some confusion with this during the James/Harry dream.

----

Lily Potter stared at her husband as absolute terror started to fill her. He suddenly turned to her, eyes wide and frantic. "Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off!"

He shoved Harry into her arms and she struggled to get a grip on her son as James bent down to give their boy a quick kiss on the head. Then their eyes met, green to hazel, and she knew with absolute certainty that this was the last time she would ever see her husband.

After holding his gaze for what seemed like an eternity, she knew she could not waste anymore time. They had agreed long ago, on that horrible day that they met with Albus Dumbledore, Frank Longbottom, and Alice Spears that the only thing that would matter would be Harry's safety. Well, the Longbottoms had mainly been concerned with Neville's safety, but that was beside the point. She and James had made a pact between them. There would be no hesitation, no misunderstanding. If fate demanded they give their lives for their son, even if it meant one of them leaving the other to die, it would be done. So Lily did what she had swore to her husband she would do over a year ago. Clutching their screaming son to her chest, she turned and fled.

It was the hardest thing she'd ever had to do, leaving James alone to face Voldemort. Her heart was railing inside her and her son was making his protests well known as he reached over her shoulder for his father. But she steeled herself and ran, up the stairs to Harry's nursery where they had installed the fireplace that would only go one way from their house to the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Hush, now, it's okay, pumpkin," she whispered in her son's ear as she grabbed the Floo powder from where they kept it in a ceramic Mickey Mouse cookie jar. "It's okay. Daddy's going to be fine."

She wildly threw the powder into the roaring flames of the fireplace and waited anxiously for the flames to turn green. It should have taken only moments, but with her nerves, it seemed to take longer. Then she realized it wasn't just her nerves. She tried once again, this time controlling her aim better so that the powder would besure to hit the flames. There was a color change this time. But instead of turning an emerald shde of green, the flames burned blacker than the dead of night.

Without even thinking, Lily threw down the anti-Apparition Charm she herself had put on their home and held her son close as she focused all her will on being just outside the wards at Sirius's flat. She felt nothing. She opened her eyes and found herself to still be in her son's brightly colored nursery. She closed her eyes and tried again. Again nothing. She was being blocked, and by no spell she had cast.

The sickening realization that there would no escape from their formerly happy home slowly dawned upon Lily. "Oh, Merlin, save us…"

"Dada!" Harry wailed, thrashing wildly against her grip in an attempt to return to his father, never mind that he was having trouble walking.

"Please, Harry, come on, you're fine," Lily murmured to the baby, trying miserably to keep her tone warm and safe for Harry's sake. She held him carefully against her. "I've got you."

Her mind cast about for some way to get out, some safety she hadn't thought of. But James was waging battle in the front hall, blocking the stairs and effectively cutting off any hopes of just running away. She briefly considered throwing herself and Harry out of the window and running for the woods, but she knew her small fragile boy would never survive the fall from so high up, no matter how she tried to take the brunt of it. And even if she did manage to keep him safe, she would be so injured herself that they would be beaten anyways. Her only hope was that she could by enough time that someone might realize something was wrong.

"Shh, pumpkin, shh," she continued to murmur to Harry, bouncing him in her arms as she tried desperately to comfort him. "I love you, I won't let anything happen to you."

But her son was not to be comforted. Even at his age, he seemed to know what was happening there that night.

In a last ditch effort, in a hope to comfort herself as well as her son, she began singing the lullaby she had picked to be hers for Harry, one from the last film she had seen in the theater with her own mother before she had been so ruthlessly murdered.

"_Be brave, little one_

_Make a wish for each sad little tear_

_Hold your head up, though no one is near_

_Someone's waiting for you_

_Don't cry, little one_

_There'll be a--_"

"LILY!" came the cry of misery from downstairs, followed by the slight flash of a far-off green light and that haunting high-pitched laughter she had heard three times before.

Lily's world froze as the last cries of her beloved husband burned in her ears. "James…no…"

Then the world began to crumble around her. Her husband was dead. Within moments, his murderer would come for her and her innocent little boy. And she could do nothing but wait for him.

There was no escape. And her thoughts began to take funny turns as she waited for death to come claim her. She thought of Dumbledore and how guilty he would feel. And of course Sirius. It had been his idea not to be their Secret Keeper. And that thought turned her mind briefly to Peter. She wondered if he was still alive, if their location had been tortured out of him in some way or if he had been cruelly tricked. She hoped he knew she wouldn't have blamed him if such was the case, it wasn't his fault, they should never have placed such a burden upon him. She thought of Frank and Alice's son. He must be the Chosen One, then, the one that would vanquish Voldemort. Harry couldn't very well do it if he were dead.

Oh, Harry, her baby, her precious son. He was only fifteen months. Fifteen months exactly. It was supposed to be a holiday, a fun Halloween spent with her baby. He had quieted. He seemed to know that James was gone, and instead of squirming to get away was now clutching to his mother desperately. She couldn't imagine the light of her little energetic angel being snuffed out, she loved him so much…

Then the answer came to her. It was so obvious, should have been obvious from the very beginning, from the moment she made that pact with James. There was no time, no time to wonder as her mind went back to a time she had been studying Charms extracurricularly and her tutor had shown her a book of the most ancient and dangerous charms, those that had been forgotten by almost all of the magical community. Except him. He had known them, mostly because he was being trained by his father to know them. And he had taught them to her.

Her mind cleared as her path became clear. Of course, it was a long shot. Events would have to play out in a very specific and unlikely way for this to work. But it was her only shot. Her grip tightened on her son and she resolved herself to this course of action. No matter how this played out, either for the best or worst, she wouldn't live to see the sun rise again. But her son would. "He won't get you, too."

It took only a few words in Theban. And then it was done. It was a long shot, but she could only hope and pray…

"Ah…Lily…so good to meet again."

Lily whirled around to face the door, careful to keep Harry sheltered protectively in her side. She met those glowing red eyes with a hate she never knew she was capable of possessing. "You bastard."

Voldemort simply smiled coldly at her as he came further into the room, twisted wand trained on her in an almost bored way. "Now, Mrs. Potter, that is no way to talk to a guest in your home. Did your husband teach you nothing? His manners were as abysmal as yours. Though, as a Mudblood, you have an excuse."

Lily's eyes burned with tears at the mention of her husband, hearing that thing referring to him in the past tense in such a casual manner. Harry must have sensed her broiling emotions, for he squeaked from her side. "Mama?"

Lily didn't turn as Voldemort's attention slid to the baby she knew he could barely see from behind her sheltering arms. His glowing red eyes narrowed slightly. "So this must be little Harry. Well, I don't see how this pathetic little thing is supposed to destroy me. Nevertheless, I find myself forced to make sure he never has the chance."

"He's a baby," she said lowly, desperately appealing to whatever humanity might still be left in the creature standing before her.

He seemed unmoved by this statement. "That will one day grow into a wizard. No. Though, I find myself not without some compassion. There is no need for you to join your husband and son. Just give the child to me."

And there it was. Her son would live. As long as the ancient magics held, her son would survive this encounter. Though as the spells were so old that their effectiveness was a point of contention, it was still a little bit of a longshot. And while she would have never begged this evil for her own life, she couldn't just surrender without doing anything.

"Not Harry!" she begged, her voice rising in volume as she clutched her child to her chest. "Not Harry! Please--I'll do anything--"

All mirth and laughter was gone from Voldemort as he brought his wand to bear on her. "Stand aside. Stand aside, girl!"

She shook her head as the tears started to burn against her eyes. "Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"

"Stand aside, you silly girl!" he shouted at her coldly. "Stand aside, now!"

"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead--"

"Alas, the prophecy didn't say anything about idiotic Mudbloods. Now stand aside!"

"Not Harry!" she screamed in terror, knowing that the end was coming soon. She turned her back on the Dark wizard and held Harry close. "Please…have mercy…have mercy…"

"You leave me no choice."

She buried her face in her son, breathing in for the last time that unique fresh smell of innocence and warmth.

"I'll always love you…"

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

---

---

"_NO_!"

"Harry!"

"C'mon, snap out of it!"

Harry Potter woke from the nightmare to find himself lying in a sweating heap on the ice-cold stone floor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. And he was literally surrounded by concerned faces all looking down at him.

He looked around wildly for the only person he cared to see at the moment. "Mum? Mum, where…what…"

"It was a dream, Harry," a familiar voice said firmly bringing him slowly back to reality.

Harry desperately tries to grasp onto the last lingering remains of the dream, but it was fading fast. "But…she was here…"

"Who was here?" a familiar freckled face asked.

Harry met Ron's blue eyes questioningly. "My mum."

Ron winced. "Harry…your mum…"

And then the dream was gone and reality was there. And Harry realized that was the way he wanted it. He looked down at the floor, trying to clear his head of this new, disturbing dream. "Is dead. I know."

"Class is dismissed," Lupin called to the others without another moment of hesitation.

There was a lot of rustling and mumbling as Harry's classmates left the room. They all took care to not come near him on their way to the door, instead walking across the classroom to go around him. He didn't care.

Lupin was kneeling in front of him, trying to get him to look up at him. "Harry, what did you see?"

Harry continued to stare stubbornly at the floor as he tried to force his emotions back down. He didn't want to feel them, any of them, even if it meant feeling nothing for the rest of his life. But they just wouldn't cooperate and he had to tell Lupin something. "I…I saw Voldemort…he killed her…"

"Harry?" Hermione said softly somewhere to his right. He should have known she and Ron would stay even though the class had been dismissed. "Harry, it was just a nightmare."

But Harry couldn't force himself to believe that lie, even though he so desperately wanted to. "No, it wasn't."

"Harry, be reasonable, mate," Ron said, though his tone was just as gentle as Hermione's had been. But of course, everyone was oh so careful around Harry Potter nowadays.

"Ron's right, Harry," Lupin agreed, trying to reason with Harry in his matter-of-fact tone that he usually reserved for teaching. "I know any kind of thoughts about Lily must be heartbreaking, but remember, they're not real. It's all going to be all right."

Harry's stomach lurched at Lupin's words. "That's what she said…"

Hermione, it seemed, was becoming a little desperate. "Harry, you know it wasn't real."

Harry did the only thing he could think to do. The words were there, he knew he had heard them many times before. And they were so comforting. "_Be brave, little one, make a wish for each sad little tear, hold your head up_--"

Lupin's reaction was instantaneous. His knees gave out and he collapsed on the floor next to Harry, causing Harry to stop seeing and look up finally into Lupin's eyes. Lupin stared at him, even as he addressed Hermione. "Leave him alone, Hermione."

Hermione seemed startled. "What?"

"It was real," Lupin said simply, eyes still locked with Harry's.

Harry couldn't take looking at those eyes, eyes that cared for him. If Lupin had any sense, he wouldn't care.

"Harry?" the older man asked gently, as if trying to coax a small child into something.

Harry sighed miserably, still staring at the floor. "This is the second time it happened."

Lupin blinked as he remembered what had happened just two nights before. "You're talking about your dream of James three days ago, aren't you?"

Harry nodded as he remembered the dream that had showed him his father for the first time. Not James Potter. His _father_. "It was…that dream was of the last few minutes before Voldemort came…"

Harry's voice came back to him as he suddenly felt the dream once more. He looked down, almost hating the vision. "It's not like dreams, Professor. I can hear it. I can see it. I can _feel_ it. Feel them. Mum…she smelled like springtime. And Dad, he was real strong. His hands were warm, much warmer than Mum's hands, even though they were really rough, like mine…broom hands. He smelled like the wind. Like a million different scents all rolled together in one."

Lupin looked as though Harry had smacked him. It took a few moments, but then he nodded, confirming Harry's observations. "It was from his time on his broom. He always smelled like…like life…"

"Mum's fingers were long and delicate," Harry continued as he felt his mother's hands rub soothingly over his back, trying to comfort him even in the face of Voldemort. "But they were really strong at the same time. She could sing really well. And her hair was so soft…"

The ghost hands surrounded him, followed by the faint smells he had described and the shadows of the feelings he had had when around them. And the knowledge that he couldn't have it again was almost more than he could bear. The tears came so suddenly, not even he had expected them. But they still came. "Why is this happening?" Harry asked miserably as he hugged his knees tightly against his chest. "I don't know what's worse: knowing or not knowing. At least before, I didn't really know what I was missing."

Suddenly real live warm hands were on him, chasing away the ghost hands and pulling him close into an embrace. "Shh, Harry," Lupin whispered in his ear. "It's all right."

Harry let Lupin pull him into his lap and rock him like a child as he sobbed there on the floor of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. "I felt safe, Remus. I felt so safe and warm. I was happy. Then he came…"

And there in the middle of all the warm memories the dreams had brought were the ones so much more terrible than the dementors had ever brought. He had seen it, all of it. His parents' deaths in every last detail. "They were scared," he cried as he felt his mother's terror course through him. "They were really scared. Brave, though. Th…th-th-they fought him. To the last. But Dad's eyes…Mum was shaking. They didn't want to die!"

"I know they didn't," Lupin murmured softly. "No one really does. They had such plans for you. You weren't supposed to have grown up the way you did."

Harry calmed a bit as the truth that had been tormenting him for the past several months descended down upon him once again. "They died because of me. Because Voldemort was after me."

Lupin's grip tightened almost painfully at these word. "Listen here," he told Harry firmly. "Your parents loved you. They died for you, yes, but not so you could blame yourself for their deaths. They died so you could live."

"Why?" Harry whispered as the tears continued to come quietly. "Why did it have to happen? Why did it have to be me?"

"It just was," Lupin murmured, not really having an answer.

"I want them back," Harry said softly through the tears. "I want them to come back."

"I do too, son," Lupin whispered thickly in his ear as he rocked Harry soothingly in his arms. "I do too."

---

---

"Lily, wake up!"

Lily Anne Evans Potter's eyes went wide and she sat up quickly as she broke out of her nightmarish memory. She looked around at the strange surroundings, completely confused as to what was going on. "What--"

Then her eyes found James, who was sitting next to her, eyes filled with concern. "You fell asleep."

Then it all came back to her. She wasn't in a strange place. She was in her and James's (Willow and Tara's) room in the Summers' house in Sunnydale, California. She wasn't dead, but alive, resurrected fifteen years after that fateful Halloween night. Rupert Giles had come into town that day, and she had decided to take a nap as the other's tried to find a way to fit the man into a house that was already filled over its capacity.

She blinked at her husband, who looked near ready to keel over in a dead faint. "Oh. I'm sorry, I…I was dreaming…"

"I know," he said in a worried whisper. "I think the whole house knows."

So she had been screaming. Wonderful. That was just what she felt like explaining. Then she noticed the windows. The world beyond them was dark. That didn't seem right. It had barely been five when she had lied down. It couldn't have been more than… "What time is it?"

James grimaced slightly. "After eight. I saved some dinner for you."

Lily's eyes went wide. "Oh, you shouldn't have let me sleep so long."

Her husband smiled softly at her, then cupped the side of her face with his right hand. "Come on downstairs. Rupert is settling in on the sofa and I don't think I can stand being in the same room with him for more than a few minutes at a time, not without you."

Lily leaned into her husbands touch, letting his warmth chase away the lingering ghosts of the past. "I'm coming."

He sensed something was wrong with her and opened himself to her, drawing her deeper into his embrace. "All right, love?" he asked as he stroked her hair soothingly.

Lily sighed as she let her love soothe her. "I honestly don't know, James. Not anymore."

---

---

Remus Lupin took a step into the room he'd just been admitted to. It was quite early, a little past half after four in the morning. But Dumbledore had knon he was already awake and needed to speak with him, So he had sent Dobby to Remus with instructions to come upstairs to see him when he felt ready. Well, he had been ready three hours ago, so he went up immediately. "Headmaster?"

Dumbledore looked up at him from where he was seated at his desk pouring over many papers, eyes a little less twinkling than usual. He seemed relieved to see Remus, probably because it meant a break for him away from the war, Remus guessed. "Remus! What can I do for you this fine day?"

Remus sighed. If Dumbledore was hoping for a break from the grimmer aspects of life, he wasn't going to get it. "Albus…it's about Harry."

Dumbledore's face clouded at the seriousness of Remus's tone. He motioned for Remus to come further into the room and sit. "What's wrong?"

Remus resisted the urge to sigh as he closed the door behind him before crossing the office to sit in one of the chairs in front of the Headmaster's desk. What wasn't wrong with Harry? Remus sagged into the chair as the weight of all his concerns came crashing down upon him. "He's been…very distant since he returned to school this year. Surely you've noticed?"

Dumbledore nodded, the twinkle in his eyes becoming a rolling storm at the mention of Harry's more than concerning mood over the last few months. "I have indeed noticed, Remus."

"It's worse than just that, sir," Remus said, knowing that he should have come to Dumbledore much sooner. He had just been hoping for so long that Harry would work through his grief as best he could. But Remus knew now that the best they would ever see in the boy again was a scarred soul, unless some miracle occurred. "Ron's been down with Hermione to see me many times. According to them, Harry's become…cool. Distant. Ron says he has nightmares almost every night."

Dumbledore sighed, and glanced over at the empty portrait that should have housed Phineas Nigellus. It had been empty since Sirius's death. "While extremely troubling, the fact is nightmares are not entirely unexpected."

"I found him out of bed last Wednesday," Remus continued, a little agitated that Dumbledore wasn't taking more action if he was as concerned as he looked.

Dumbledore looked up at Remus hopefully. "Did he talk to you?"

Remus gave a small nod and garnered Dumbledore's compelte attention. It was no secret that Harry would not speak to Dumbledore at all, not unless hehad to. And even then it was a fifty-fifty shot. "He said his nightmare…he was dreaming of James, Albus."

A pained look flashed momentarily across Dumbledore's face before leaving the old tired face of a man who was quickly running out of options. While Remus knew Dumbledore to be a great wizard and trusted fully in his wisdom in the war, he knew they were slowly losing the battle for Harry.

And Dumbledore seemed to feel that loss hard already. "Again, not completely unexpec--"

"No," Remus cut him off quickly even as he prepared himself for the painful memories he was going to have to face for this. "It is. I don't believe it was a dream."

Dumbledore paused for a moment, then gave Remus an encouraging nod. "Please, continue."

Remus sighed. "Harry knew things. Things he shouldn't have known. He talked about James's old owl and a few of the nicknames James used to call him by."

Dumbledore watched Remus carefully as he listened to his story. "Is there more?"

"He fell asleep in my class yesterday afternoon," Remus said, shuddering a bit at the memory of what had happened just a few short hours ago. "I didn't really notice until he started thrashing around and screaming. Longbottom just about had a heart attack right there."

"What was the nightmare about?" Dumbledore asked in concern.

"Lily's murder. He said he saw the entire thing."

Dumbledore sat back at this news

"You believe this dream to have been a vision as well?"

Remus nodded. "He knew things again. Things he shouldn't have. The lullaby Lily used to sing, one that was somewhat unique amongst witches and rare with Muggles. Mannerisms. Smells. He said it was like he was there."

"How badly did he take it?" Dumbledore asked carefully.

Remus grimaced as he replied, "He collapsed in class."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I was afraid of this. The combined weight of both Sirius's death and the prophecy…"

A sudden wave of anger came over Remus. He almost growled as he clenched his hands into fists. "He shouldn't have to do this. He's just a boy, damn it. Everything good he's ever had has been taken from him."

"I agree," Dumbledore said, his own tone dark and heavy. Then he seemed to lighten a bit. "Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley. Are they coping well?"

Remus almost smiled as he thought of Ron and Hermione. They were such good friends to Harry. But then he remembered their last visit to his office. Hermione had been so frustrated with the situation and her inability to help Harry, that she had wept. "They want to help him. Hermione is very understanding and what Ron doesn't understand he makes up for with heart. Harry just doesn't want help."

Dumbledore nodded sadly. "All they can do is be there for him. You especially, Remus. You're the last link he has to his past now. To James, Lily, Sirius. He'll need you before the end."

Remus knew this all too well. And the burden was enormous. Though he knew what James, Lily, and Sirius would want him to do. "I understand. I just wish I knew what to do for--"

Remus was suddenly cut off as the fire in Dumbledore's office burned green.

Dumbledore frowned. Remus knew that no one could come through the Hogwart's Floo without being invited through, but somehow, Dumbledore was surprised It was all explained, however, when stead of a person, a white envelope shot out of the flames.

Remus frowned as well. "A bit early for any kind of post."

Dumbledore just pointed his wand at the fluttering envelope, calling it to his hand. He turned the letter over and searched out the sender's information. His thick white brows shot up. "From America. The States"

Remus frowned even harder. There was no reason for anyone to contact Dumbledore from America. Indeed, the States' magical populous had refused officially to get involved in the war that was slowly sweeping over Europe, though they were sending supplies to both the Ministries of Britain and France. Dumbledore had wisely not pursued any contacts there, letting the Ministry instead try and coax more official support from their stubborn ally. "America?"

"Mm," Dumbledore hummed as he opened the letter, eyes going first to the signature. "Well, well, well. Rupert Giles."

"Giles?" Remus repeated in a bit of a disgruntled tone. He remembered well the Marauders' old rival. "Isn't he part of the Watcher's Council?"

Dumbledore nodded, never taking his eyes from the letter he was now skimming over quickly. "I do believe so, seeing that he's writing from Miss Buffy Summer's Hellmouth."

This news surprised Remus. While it wasn't hard to imagine Rupert Giles in the Council headquarters in London, researching and handing out orders from a comfortable seat of power, it was almost unthinkable to picture the old Slytherin on the front lines actually training a Slayer. And what's more, such a successful Slayer as the Summers girl. "Buffy Summers? She's his Slayer?"

Again, Dumbledore nodded, though his brow was wrinkled in concern as he began to eye the letter more carefully. "If what I've heard is true."

Remus couldn't contain the snort that came. "Never imagined him becoming more than a burden on society."

"No, Remus, that would be Mr. Ethan Rayne," Dumbledore said, though his tone was not light. In fact, it was quite troubled.

Dumbledore fell silent as he leaned closer to the letter, his concern now completely evident as he seriously contemplated the piece of paper.

Remus became a slight bit worried and more than a bit uncomfortable. "Albus?"

Dumbledore finally finished the letter and sighed as he leaned back into his seat. "Well, Rupert. What have you gotten yourself into now?"


	18. The Dark Side

Rupert Giles watched as his Slayer held up the pillow which just happened to be sporting a pillow case printed with pink and purple butterflies up so that her Watcher could see it. "I know they're…so cute you could die, but…it's all I got. Especially with the other dead people in the mix. Lucky Sirius didn't like the sofa."

Giles chuckled at the sheets that were obviously from the girl's childhood and reached out to take the pillow from her. "Think nothing of it. It's, it's, um, whimsical."

"They were mine when I was little," Buffy confirmed his thoughts with a small smile as she grabbed the fitted sheet from the pile she had made on the coffee table and started the task of making up the sofa for him. "Sirius is already using the guest sheets and I couldn't find any others. Mom always did this stuff. They don't actually fit. I blame the sofa. We need one of those pullout kinds. The kind with no payments 'til two-thousand-and-infinity."

Giles blinked at her particular choice of words and looked up from where he was tucking in a corner of the sheets. "What?"

Buffy sighed and sat down on the coffee table. "Oh, it's…just money stuff. It turns out…Mom left me some, and while I was dead, it got squandered on luxuries like…food and clothing."

Giles sat on the sofa and regarded the Slayer seriously. "How bad is it?"

Buffy was apparently putting on a good face for him, though he could see the truth of it reflected in her eyes. "Anya says pretty bad. I'm kinda taking her word for it. Actually, I'm kinda trying to not think about it."

"You're having money issues?"

He and Buffy turned to see Sirius Black, James Potter, and a sleepy looking Lily standing just inside the door looking at her in concern. Black, who had been the one that had spoken, looked particularly worried.

Buffy gave them a small smile, and kept her expression calm and light. "Oh. Hi, Sirius. James."

Giles frowned at the two men. They represented a time in his life that he had tried very hard to forget completely. And even when he had been living that life, he had hated them both. They had been the most arrogant, frustrating, meddlesome pack of idiots in the school. And the way they had just…_strutted_ about at the age of twelve…with absolute no respect for the elder students…

But that was then. And this, unfortunately, was now. And much had occurred in the interim. Giles had become a Watcher, the other two Aurors. They were adults. And they were all three unarmed.

"Potter," Giles finally greeted coolly. "Black."

The little redheaded spitfire who had for some reason deemed James Potter worthy enough of her hand, she was another matter entirely. He had been assigned by old Flitwick to tutor some of the younger students for extra credit and in lieu of some of the many detentions he came to owe over his schooling. Most of those sessions had been with students so ridiculously inept that they were already falling behind in their Second and Third Years. But he had had one student that had been as far from that as she could have been. A spunky little Muggleborn redhead with a such a hand at Charms, that he had never seen her match in the two decades since. And he had come to love the little girl almost like a sister in the few short years he'd known her.

"Good evening, Lily," he said with a much warmer smile.

She gave the couple an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Kitchen's kind of on the way past here." Then she turned her gaze to Buffy and hesitated. Then her obvious concern for the Slayer won out over whatever tact was holding her back. "Why didn't you say something?"

Buffy was obviously uncomfortable with this sudden turn of events. "I didn't want to burden you, what with being recently resurrected."

"Hey, you were recently resurrected, too," Potter pointed out with a forced grin. "You know, Lil and I aren't total paupers. We could help."

That caused Giles to give the man a belittling sort of look. "Yes, because your funds weren't inherited by one sixteen-year-old boy upon your deaths."

"That's true," Potter conceded the point after another moment's thought. "Harry got everything."

Black nodded his agreement. "I left all I had to Harry, too. Except Grimmauld Place."

Then Giles remembered the letter he had sent via the Floo system from Skye's earlier and felt honor bound to tell at least Lily what he'd done. "Speaking of your son, I've written Albus."

Black snorted. "Bet that went smashing. How exactly did you word that one? _Dear Headmaster, I hope you remember me. I was the nasty Slytherin git that caused all that trouble twenty years ago, then left the wizard world. By the way, I ran into James and Lily Potter and Sirius Black last night. Thought you should know. I thought I'd give you first dibs before offering them up to some demon as sacrifice_--"

Lily's eyes went wide as they filled with a riteoud sort of fire. "Sirius Black! I've just about had it with you and that mouth of yours! Of all the things to say when Rupert has been nothing but nice to us…"

As much as Giles loved Lily, he just didn't think he was conscious enough to deal with Black and Potter at the moment. He especially didn't feel like watching the young Gryffindor woman fight his battles for him. So he just turned and left the bickering threesome to it, abandoning his Slayer to be their mediator.

In the kitchen, he immediately found he'd rather have stayed in the living room. For at the bar sat young Willow Rosenberg, picking at a box of biscuits.

She smiled widely as he came in. "Hey, Giles. You have a good talk with Buffy?"

Giles couldn't believe the girl. He just couldn't believe her. After everything she'd seen, everything he'd taught her, the wisdom she'd seemed to posses. But he took a breath and tried very hard to reign in his temper. Best to try and talk this out rationally. But he still couldn't bring himself to look at her as he turned and headed for the sink. "Yes, now she's back."

"Isn't it awesome?" she asked, sounding quite happy and a little proud of herself. Giles had to clear his throat to keep himself from starting in on her with that comment. But she seemed to take this as some sort of agreement and continued, "And we got four for the price of one, too! Aren't they cool?"

He finally felt he was in control of himself so he took off his glasses and turned to face her. "Tell me about this spell you performed."

Willow beamed innocently at him as if she were some sort of child who had just been asked to demonstrate what she'd learned in school that day. "Oh, okay, first of all? So scary. Like, the Blair Witch would have had to watch like this."

She put her right hand up to cover her eyes and peep through her fingers. Giles didn't say anything and let her continue her tale. "And, and, and this giant snake came out my mouth and there was all this energy crackling, and this pack of demons interrupted, but I totally kept it together. And then, the next thing you know? Buffy, Lily, James, and Sirius."

Whatever hope he'd had of the spell not being dark died with her words. And even if it had been light, she didn't seem to have any second thoughts about what she had done. There was no weight to her words, no indication that she had even hesitated to do what she did. She had wanted something and she had taken without any thought to anyone but herself.

Giles suddenly couldn't contain his fury anymore. "You're a very stupid girl," he said in a low but sharp and cold tone.

Several seconds of silence past as the girl's smile vanished in a haze of confusion when she understood his words. "What? Giles…"

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" he asked, turning to face her more fully. "The forces you've harnessed, the lines you've crossed?"

From her expression, it was obvious she hadn't. And she still didn't understand the point the was trying to make to her. "I thought you'd be impressed, or, or something."

"Oh, don't worry," he continued in the cold, low tone, "you've…made a very deep impression."

Then he took a breath and looked up at her, raising his hands, completely lost on how to drive his disappointment home. "Of everyone here…you were the one I trusted most to respect the forces of nature."

"Are you saying you don't trust me?" she asked slowly, obviously hurt by his words.

"Think what you've done to Buffy," he told her point blank. "To Lily. And Black and Potter."

"I brought them back," she said, still not understanding his point.

"At incredible risk!" he said with a shake of his head.

At this point, her temper began to flare up and she started to defend herself instead of admitting her mistake. "Risk? Of what? Making them deader?"

"Of killing us all," he suggested taking a step towards her, "unleashing hell on Earth. I mean, shall I go on?"

"No!" she stopped him, rising to her feet as she met his gaze stubbornly. "Giles, I did what I had to do. I did what nobody else could do."

He softened a bit as he saw her earnestness, but that didn't change the fact of what had happened. "Oh, there are others in this world who can do what you did. Three people in this house have died because of people like that. They exist. You just don't want to meet them."

She flinched a little at this, caught off guard by the implication. "No, probably not, but…well, they're the bad guys. I'm not a bad guy. I brought Buffy, James, Lily, and Sirius back into this world, a-and maybe the word you should be looking for is 'congratulations'."

"Having Buffy back in the world makes me feel…indescribably wonderful," he told her, completely honest. "And Lily…well, she was a friend that I lost too soon. And Potter and Black didn't deserve what happened to them. But I wouldn't congratulate you if you jumped off a cliff and happened to survive."

"That's not what I did, Giles," she argued a bit more heatedly this time.

"You were lucky," he snapped back, beginning to lose the little control he still had on his temper.

"I wasn't lucky," she told him as her tone grew cooler. "I was amazing. And how would you know? You weren't even there."

"If I had been, I'd have bloody well stopped you," he barked at her, losing the last control he had. "The magics you channeled are more ferocious and primal than anything you can hope to understand, and you are lucky to be alive, you rank, arrogant amateur!"

He turned to storm out of the kitchen before he could say anything else he might regret later, but was stopped by a voice tainted with darkness. "You're right."

He turned to look at her again and saw that the sweet little redhead he'd come to know and love was gone. And in her place stood a witch edged with darkness, cold empty eyes looking at him as if he were nothing. "The magics I used are very powerful. I'm very powerful. And maybe it's not such a good idea for you to piss me off."

He held her gaze for a moment, then blinked, looking down at the pair of glasses in his hands. He wasn't frightened by her. No, he had faced to many more impressive adversaries to be frightened by the likes of this little one. He just couldn't stand to see in her the signs he knew all too well, the signs he had seen many times before.

And he wasn't the only one that saw it.

"I knew it."

They both turned to see Black, Potter, and Lily standing at the entryway to the living room, all three staring at Willow knowingly.

Black continued speaking, "This is the stuff dark wizards are made of."

Willow's eyes went wide as she tried to quickly cover up the argument with a smile. "Lily! James! Uh, sorry, we didn't know you were there--"

"He's right, Willow," Potter cut her off with a stern look.

She frowned in confusion as the trio stepped closer into the kitchen. "What?"

Potter stopped a good distance away, far enough so that they weren't pinning the redhead down, but he didn't soften. In fact, he grew more serious. "You shouldn't have done this. You aren't trained and even then, resurrections are dark."

Even Lily had a grave expression on her face. "Always."

Willow didn't like them ganging up at her and reverted back to her angry defense of her actions. "And what would you three know about it?"

Lily raised an eyebrow at this, her expression incredulous. "Well, aside from the fact that James and Sirius were fully trained Aurors, people who fight the Dark Arts? That we were members of a select group determined to lead a war against a particularly dark wizard?"

Willow hesitated at this, then tried a different tactic. "I know what you guys must think, but I'm in control. I know what I'm doing."

"Do you?" Black asked, his complete disbelief of her words apparent.

Before Willow could even reply, James snapped at her, "You know nothing."

This seemed to be the last straw for Willow's temper. "Nothing? I am--"

"A rank, arrogant amateur," Black finished before she could say anything else. "You've been practicing for how long? A few years? Four or five at most? Don't look surprised, it shows. I've been practicing magic for twenty-five years. Your Giles even longer. If you even think you know better than we do, especially in regards to the Dark Arts and the control you think you have, you are dead wrong."

Willow didn't have a response for this. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Lily gave Black a look at his harshness, then stepped forward and began a softer approach. "You can do wandless stuff. Impressive magics, especially for someone with so little training. I think you could be a very powerful witch, Willow. But we need to get you trained up proper."

Whatever defense Willow was going to give died with those words. Whether she agreed with them or not, Giles knew that she wouldn't give up any opportunity to advance her training. She looked excited for a moment, then frowned. "But Tara--"

"Tara, too," Potter replied before she could finish her question.

Then Lily turned on Giles, her soft demeanor gone. "I can't believe you knew about these girls and let them carry on like this. Don't you know how dangerous going untrained is? They could lose control. Looks like she might already be starting to."

"Hey!" Willow protested.

Lily turned and gave the other redhead an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, Willow, but it's the truth. I know you don't want to hear it."

"Dabbling is dangerous," Black backed Lily up.

"I--" Willow began, but was cut off as the back door flew open admitting a very terrified looking Buffy.

"GILES!" she shrieked as she ran to him at the opposite side of the kitchen.

Giles frowned, wondering what on earth could have frightened his fearless Slayer so. Then Spike calmly stepped through the back door. His arm was raised high and a beautiful black owl was perched upon it.

"Buffy?" Willow asked in confusion, which doubled when she saw Spike. "What…Spike?"

Spike bobbed the bird on his arm slightly. "Someone's receiving mail."

"What's going on?" Dawn asked as she hurried into the kitchen in her pajamas. She frowned when she saw them all assembled. "Party in the kitchen?"

"A bird attacked me," Buffy whimpered as she cast a hateful glance at the owl.

Dawn followed her sister's gaze, then her eyes bulged. "Oh, cool!"

"It didn't attack you," Spike said to the Slayer lazily before throwing a parchment envelope to Giles. "For you, Watcher."

Giles caught the letter easily and reluctantly grunted, "Thank you, Spike."

It was then that Tara joined them, frowning at the owl still perched on Spike's arm. "Why is there a bird in the kitchen?"

Giles barely paid any attention to the following conversation about the owl. He instead ripped open letter and began to skim it.

"But why is there an owl in the kitchen?" Tara persisted.

"Owl-post," Spike explained.

Giles did hear this and looked up in astonishment at Spike, as did Lily, Potter, and Black.

Spike shifted uncomfortably. "What? I'm right. It's how wizards and witches communicate. They don't have mail, they have this."

Lily frowned at the vampire. "How do you…"

Spike seemed to realize his mistake too late and tried to shrug it off. "I get around."

But no one was buying it, not even Giles, who knew the truth of Spike's origins though he never thought the vampire would let it slip so easily.

"You were a wizard before you turned, weren't you?" Black asked as Giles turned his attention back to the letter.

He heard Spike's annoyed reply. "So I was a wizard. What of it?"

"Spike is a wizard?" Dawn asked in surprise.

"Was," Potter corrected. "Vampires can't do magic. Not without something going wrong."

"Hogwarts?" Black asked.

"Slytherin," Spike replied.

"Would have never guessed," Potter muttered sarcastically.

The next few moments of conversation Giles missed completely as the letter took a more grim turn. And then grimmer. And grimmer. Until he was in horror of every word he read.

"Giles?"

He looked up to see Buffy looking at him in concern. Everyone else seemed to be silently watching him as well, indicating that he must have looked as bad as he felt.

He clenched the letter in his hands then looked up at Willow. "Call Xander and Anya."

Willow hesitated, confused. "What's wrong?"

"Do it!" he snapped.

They didn't have time for questions. They didn't have time for anything at all. Not anymore.

------

A/N: Okay, I know what you're thinking. Spike, too! Yes, Spike, too, although it was a LONG time ago. I want it to seem like overkill on the Scooby-Wizard connection front. There's a reason for this. Also, I know a Slytherin William is a little weird. Spike, yes, bumbling William? Nuh uh. I picture him as more of a Ravenclaw. But in this little world, he was a Slytherin. Why? It'll all make sense later. Really, you guys need to trust me.

Please Rememeber to Review!


	19. Secrets and Surprises

A/N: There was some confusion on the matter of Giles's letter to Dumbledore. This is my fault, I should have clarified which I do in this chapter. I highly doubt that Giles would announce James, Lily, and Sirius's resurrection in a letter for many reasons, a few of which I'll list. First, there's the shock/disbelief value. It's a little bit of a delicate matter and would best be explained face-to-face, which is Giles's eventual plan as you will see. There's also the sensitivity of the info. If the letter were intercepted by a Death Eater or Voldemort supporter or, God forbid, the Ministry for Magic, it could be a catastrophe. You're all smart, I'm sure you can come up with a lot more downsides to writing "James and Lily Potter and Sirius Black are alive and well and are currently at 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California" in an owl than I ever could. Lol. Giles's letter was more of "I have a bit of a situation and will be coming to see you soon" type thing. Of course, Dumbledore was never really a patient man...

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Xander Harris sat on the couch in the living room of his close friend Buffy Summers, trying desperately to ignore the pink butterfly sheets tucked around the sofa he was sitting on. He instead waited anxiously for Giles to explain the latest apocalyptic event that Xander knew would dominate his life for the next several days. But there was something different this time. This time, Giles looked old. And scared. He was trying to hide it, but everyone could see it etched into the little lines on Giles's face. Whatever it was, it was bad.

The tension in the room was pretty thick. On his right, Anya was actually still and silent. Those were never good signs in his usually peppy fiancée. On his left, Willow chewed nervously on her hair, gaze far away as she stayed deep in whatever thoughts she was having. Tara leaned against the arm of the couch, concerned gaze flitting over everyone anxiously as she rubbed a hand almost subconsciously over Willow's back. Buffy sat across from them on the arm of the armchair hovering protectively over Dawn, who was the one actually sitting in the armchair. Spike leaned against the opening to the front hall, absentmindedly picking at the paint on his nails. James sat in the desk chair with Lily curled in his lap, Sirius leaning against the desk itself.

Giles stood before the group that had assembled at ten o'clock at night , deep in thought.

"So, G-man," Xander broke the silence nervously as he rubbed his hands against his jeans to warm them, " what's with the dire?"

Dawn nodded, her wide eyes fixed on Giles. "Yeah, I mean, Buffy's back and…and we got new friends…and, so, okay, _wizards_ but, hey…and…no more biker demons--"

Giles's gaze snapped over to Dawn as his brow furrowed in momentary confusion. "Biker demons?"

Buffy gave her Watcher a look as she waved a dismissive hand. "Long story."

Giles gave a small uninterested nod, then turned to address the group at large. He hesitated momentarily, then at last he sighed. And began, "I'm going to say something. Several of you will not understand."

Xander noted that Giles momentarily glanced at him, Willow, and Tara, then over at Buffy and Dawn before continuing, "But do not interrupt. I'll explain as soon as I'm done informing those that do understand what the situation is."

He paused for what Xander guessed was so that they could reply, but Lily beat them to it. Her big green eyes, wet with exhaustion and emotion, met Giles's eyes. And her eyes reflected the same deep sadness that was in the Watcher's. "It's Voldemort, isn't it?"

At this, Spike snorted and shifted against the wall as he crossed his arms in front of him. Xander was surprised to see a slightly nervous look on Spike's face as he muttered, "When isn't it?"

Beside him, Anya was practically shaking. She drew deep, uneven breaths as her arms hugged the throw pillow in her lap in what looked to be a crushing grip. "The Dark Lord really is back, then?"

Sirius nodded slowly at this and answered, "For the better part of a year and a half."

At this point, Xander knew enough to be a little more than nervous. Whatever was going on, it actually frightened Spike and Giles, and Anya was nearing the point of a breakdown. And James and Sirius were actually being all grim and serious . And Lily was so upset…

"Why are we discussing _Star Wars_?" Buffy suddenly asked, her confusion mirroring Xander's own.

"No interruptions," Giles nearly snapped, causing Buffy's mouth to fall open. Giles realized the harshness of his tone immediately and sent the Slayer an apologetic look, but didn't take the time to actually apologize. Instead he turned to Spike and Anya. "Anya, Spike, how much do you keep up with events in the wizarding world?"

Anya shook her head. "I've been living Muggle since I became human."

"Because so many Muggles carry around wands and cast Full-Body Binds," James said, voice practically dripping with sarcasm.

Anya sent James a look and her death grip on the pillow lessened a bit. "_Mostly_ Muggle. It's not like I had much of a choice. My old wand is gone, my training is completely outdated. I can't handle many spells at all, just a general knowledge."

"I get the odd owl every few months from one acquaintance or another," Spike said as he toyed nervously with his lighter. "Few months back I was approached on behalf of old Snake Heart. Told him to piss off."

"Actively recruiting vampires, then, eh?" Sirius asked dryly. "Not surprised."

Spike glanced at Buffy. "That was back before Joyce. Well, after that, things here being what they were…I started going to Skye's every couple of days. Just to keep tabs and all."

Giles nodded throughout all of this explanation. "So you know."

"I know a little, yeah," the vampire said, tone becoming a bit edgy. Then he gave Giles a curious look. "Never saw you or demon-girl there."

Giles scoffed at this. "I left that world. I wasn't about to go to a magic pub."

This got Willow's attention. "There's a magic bar here?"

"Bar and supply shop," Anya explained. "Different supplies than what we deal in. Not much since the wizarding population here is very scant."

"Do they have a wand shop?" Lily asked, the focus of the conversation now completely changed. "I'm itching for a new one."

"I'd rather think not," Giles said in a dry tone. "Britain might be a continent and an ocean away, but anyone in that shop will make you in an instant."

James, Lily, and Sirius looked disappointed at this.

"So what about Voldemort, Rupe?" Spike asked, shifting the conversation back not so subtly to the matter at hand.

Giles aged about ten years before Xander's very eyes as he pulled out what looked like a long roll of parchment. "He's attacking. Everywhere. Many are dead. Mostly Aurors and such. There was an attack on the Quidditch Season Opener less than a week ago. Azkaban has completely broken down, dementors are missing, prisoners escaped."

Everyone absorbed this news grimly. Even though Xander still didn't have the faintest idea what was going on, he could appreciate such phrases as 'attacking everywhere', 'prisoners escaped', and 'many are dead'.

"What did you tell Albus in your letter?" Sirius asked as he took a few nervous steps away from the desk.

Giles waved his hand dismissively. "Just that some things had occurred while in the field with my Slayer that raised some questions. I inquired as to the state of the wizarding world."

At this point, Willow had had enough. "Okay, can you explain a few things for us now?"

Giles sighed and shared a look with James Potter. James nodded slightly. Then Giles began, "Voldemort is the name of a particularly dark wizard who has held the supernatural world, particularly western Europe, in the grips of fear for decades now. He's extremely powerful and murders, rapes, and tortures at will. There are few who can or will fight against him. He carried on for close to, what was it, a little over a decade?"

"A little over, but around that," James agreed.

Xander nodded as previous conversations with James, Lily, and Sirius started to come back to him. "So is that the war you were talking about?"

Lily nodded but Giles answered, "It was catastrophic. He and his followers, the Death Eaters, they are the worst kinds of evil imaginable."

"They killed your mother?" Buffy asked carefully.

Giles's mouth tightened for a second before he nodded. "When I refused to join them, yes. Terrible people. They had many beliefs. First, that wizards and witches were better than Muggles. Muggle-killing was a favorite amusement of the Death Eaters. Second, Muggle-borns and Half-bloods were filth compared to Purebloods. In some ways, it was a genocidal war. But mostly, it was one man's quest for ultimate power."

Tara had paled somewhat. "He sounds like Hitler."

"In some ways, yes," Giles agreed.

"Voldemort threw our world into chaos," James then took up the explanation. "Our government was overwhelmed. Little could be done. And what was done was so controversial, at times it was hard to know what we were fighting for."

"So many died," Lily murmured, a faraway look on her face. "So many friends lost. We fought against him, but we just couldn't compete."

"We were outnumbered," Sirius added in a grim tone. "Sometimes I think we most likely would have lost."

"It was so bad that even after he was gone, people couldn't even bring themselves to say his name," Giles said in a heavy tone of voice. "We call him You-Know-Who or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Dawn listened to all of this silently before turning to Lily. "But the war is over, right? You won? He's dead?"

Giles took a deep breath and Xander knew enough to brace himself for what he was sure would be hard news. "Fifteen years ago, almost to the day, he went after the Potters. James and Lily were killed…I assume by him?"

James nodded. "Voldemort personally."

"I guess we should be honored," Lily muttered in disgust.

"Then he tried to kill their infant son, Harry," Giles continued.

Xander frowned. Willow made an odd sort of choking noise. Tara's mouth dropped open. Dawn blinked. But it was Buffy who voiced the general shock and disgust. "_Infant_?"

"He was fifteen months old, exactly, the last time we saw him," Lily said in a sad tone.

"Black, I don't know what happened from there," Giles admitted, deferring the floor to Sirius.

Sirius stepped forward and rose magnificently to the challenge. "Lily died protecting Harry, gave her life for him. It gave him an ancient magical protection against Voldemort. The curse Voldemort used on Harry backfired and got him. It destroyed his body, but his spirit survived. After that, everyone wanted to believe he was gone. The wizarding world started to pick up the pieces, but that fear remained. Death Eaters were captured as they panicked, some were put in Azkaban, others weren't."

"Around this time Black was put in Azkaban for being a Death Eater," Giles told them with a pointed look at Sirius.

Sirius gave Giles a weary look. "I wasn't."

Buffy reached over from her perch on the chair arm and patted Sirius supportively in the arm. "Of course you weren't."

Sirius spared a moment to give Buffy a small smile before continuing his horror story. "Lily and James had been in hiding and Voldemort found them because the man hiding them betrayed them. Unknown to us, he was a spy. Everyone though that man was me. It was actually another man we had believed to be our friend since we were all eleven."

Something clicked in Xander's brain. "That Peter guy?"

Sirius's eyes flashed dangerously before he nodded. "I tracked him down, but before I could do anything, he screamed that I had killed James and Lil, then blew up the street. He killed eleven people. Then he turned himself into a rat and took off. I was arrested and sent to prison without a trial."

"So Voldemort _is_ dead?" Dawn asked again, but this time with less hope in her voice.

Sirius shook his head. "No. His body was gone, but his spirit endured."

"I feel like Frodo Baggins," Willow muttered as she rolled her shoulders nervously. Then she froze and threw Lily a nervous glance. "There's not a Ring, is there?"

Lily chuckled. "No Ring."

"So, what happened?" Buffy asked impatiently.

"He fled, if I understand correctly, to Albania," Sirius explained slowly, pacing a bit. "It took ten years for him to work up the strength to attempt to come back. That attempt failed, stopped by Harry and his friends. They were around eleven or twelve at the time. Then, two years later, a servant returned to his service."

James shot Sirius a questioning look. "Servant?"

Sirius made a small choking sound before grounding out, "Peter."

James face hardened and Lily sighed wearily. "Oh, Peter…"

"With the help of Peter and another servant, young Barty Crouch--"

Lily's gaze snapped to Sirius. "Little Barty?"

Sirius shook his head. "Don't ask."

James snorted. "Well, now we have to."

"Death Eater, obviously," Sirius said. "Along with my dear cousin, Bellatrix, and the Lestrange brothers, he, er…they used the Cruciatus on Frank and Alice." Sirius glanced at Giles before adding for his benefit, "The Longbottoms."

James's expression turned horrified and Lily gasped, the tears pouring from her eyes silently. Giles's gave a sort-of pained look to Sirius. "I knew the Longbottom family. Augusta was a close friend of my mother's."

"Alice and Lily were fairly close," James explained quietly before Lily turned to bury her face in his shoulder. "Their son and Harry were just a day apart, we tried to get together every once and a while so they could play together." Then James looked up at Sirius, a look of panic in his eyes. "You did say they spared Neville?"

Sirius nodded. "The boy lives with his grandmother now. He and Harry are still friends."

Tara was now even paler. "D-do we even want to know what th-the Cruciatus is?"

"Sounds like Cruciamentum," Buffy said darkly.

"The Cruciatus is the torture curse," Sirius explained reluctantly. "These people were under it so long, they went insane."

Lily gave a little sob before she turned so the her tear-streaked face could be seen. "I can't believe Little Barty was a part of that."

Xander grabbed the box of Kleenex from the coffee table in front of him and tossed it to James. He caught it and let Lily take it. She continued to cry as she said, "It must have destroyed his parents."

Sirius scoffed at that comment. "Literally. Both dead, his father by Barty's own hand. Well, Voldemort constructed a plan. Using Barty, he kidnapped Harry and, using an ancient spell, rose again."

Anya stiffened beside Xander. "What spell?"

Sirius furrowed his brow as he thought. "Some sort of potion. It called for three ingredients. Um…"

"Flesh, blood, and bone," Anya muttered, looking ill.

Sirius blinked in shock. "How did you know that?"

Anya opened her mouth then closed it, looking disgusted. Xander tried to put his arm around her, but she shook it off. "It's a common revivification spell used among demons when they are weakened. Though the ingredients can be hard to come by."

"So Vol-whatshisname is back?" Buffy asked in a concerned tone.

"With all his power restored to him," Sirius replied grimly. "That was a year and a half ago. He's spent the last year gathering his followers, setting old plans into motion. He attacked the Ministry last June to recover the prophecy."

This is when Buffy rose from her seat. "Whoa! Screeching halt! Prophecy? What prophecy?"

James made a face of distaste. "It was prophesied that a child born in July sixteen years ago would be the only one with the power to kill Voldemort."

Willow shot Lily and James a sympathetic look. "I'm guessing that's your boy."

James nodded as Lily blew her nose.

Buffy crossed her arms and wrinkled her nose. "I hate prophecies. They never turn out to be good."

"I can't believe the stupid blighter had the balls to go for the Ministry," Spike muttered, leaning heavily against the wall.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "It was a disaster. Several students were there--"

"Lemme guess," Buffy muttered as she shot Sirius a look. "Harry?"

Sirius nodded. "And Death Eaters and such. I died in that one, so I don't know how it turned out."

At this point, Spike stepped forward. "Allow me."

He reached into the pockets of his duster. From the right pocket he pulled his cigarettes. From the left, a pack of blood. He frowned and tossed them both on the coffee table. He reached his right hand again into his pocket, rooting around with a look of concentration on his face. He pulled out a fairly large jar of some herb Xander recognized from the basement of the Magic Box. Xander frowned, both at the fact that Spike had obviously stolen from his fiancée's shop and at wondering how Spike had fit it in his pocket.

The vampire sighed and put it on the table, reaching into his pockets again. From the left pocket he pulled a large bottle of Jack Daniel's, from the right, he pulled out a…sword.

Xander's mouth dropped open and stared in fascination as Spike rooted through his pockets, the right and left outside pockets and the inside pockets. He produced four stakes. Three more packs of cigarettes. Six pens, a pair of panties, two red button-up shirts, three black t-shirts, an old boot, another fifth of whiskey, a wad of cash, various Magic Box items, a broken lamp, a motorcycle helmet, a deflated football, a bunch of weird coins Xander had never seen, a whip, a large bottle of peroxide, a box of Wheatabix, a coffee mug, six different books of poetry, another four books of spells, eight knives, a big red leather ball, a sketchbook, a big bunch of feathers, some random chess pieces, three packs of playing cards…it went on and on.

Dawn didn't seem impressed, signaling that she had seen Spike do this before. Buffy was watching without much of an expression, as if she'd pretty much believe anything. Anya seemed more concerned with the stealing. James, Lily, and Sirius were unimpressed. Neither was Giles, again, as he was more interested in the stolen items from the store. But Willow and Tara looked as shocked as Xander felt.

Willow watched the pile of junk on the coffee table grow with wide eyes. "What…how…what…"

"I had this duster charmed years ago," Spike muttered as he continued his quest, "Could carry the world in it if I wanted to."

"So…that's…" Tara murmured in a high voice.

Buffy rolled her eyes and grabbed a crossbow Xander recognized as hers. "How Mary Poppins of you."

Finally, Spike seemed to find what he was looking for…a great big wad of torn and wrinkled newspapers. He dumped them on the floor and flipped through the various copies before pulling out one of them. "Right, then," he said as his eyes swept over the paper. "'_Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge_'—he's a stupid poofter if I've ever seen one—'_confirmed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named_'—when will you wizards ever learn—'_has returned to this country and is active once more_'. Uh…'_revolt of dementors_'…'_recruiting followers once more_'…'_Boy Who Lived battles valiantly_'…'_capture of several Death Eaters_'…'_Albus Dumbledore reinstated_'…'_attack at Ministry_'…'_no casualties reported_'…"

Sirius raised a surprised eyebrow. "All that happened since I died?"

"Hmm?" Spike murmured as he glanced at Sirius. Then he shook his head. "Oh, no. This is the _Prophet _from the Sunday after you died."

Sirius's eyes widened. "_What_!"

"_Prophet_?" Tara repeated, confused.

"Wizard newspaper," Giles muttered, eyes glued to Spike. He held a hand out to the vampire. "May I?"

Spike scooped up another paper before tossing him the paper he'd been reading. "Take this one. Uh, lemme see. In the week following your death, Black, Voldemort instigated several attacks. Cornelius Fudge was murdered. No one knows who killed him. No Dark Mark either, so it could have been anyone, really, though that man is an idiot and pretty much deserved it."

"Spike," Buffy warned.

At this point, Sirius, James and Lily were on the floor rooting through the pile of papers.

"There was a dementor attack on a Muggle town in northern Scotland right after the Azkaban revolt," Spike continued as he quickly scanned the paper. James Lily, Sirius, Giles, and Anya froze, looking at Spike in horror. "They went on a feeding frenzy. Nearly two dozen Kissed. Including nearly half-a-dozen children. All Muggle."

Anya grabbed Xander's arm suddenly as she swayed in her seat. Lily gave a strangled gasp. Giles sat down heavily in the seat vacated by Buffy earlier.

James held Spike's gaze as he paled. "You're joking."

Spike gave him a look. "Not even I would joke about that, mate. Not even at my worst."

"I think I'm going to be sick," Anya murmured, this time allowing Xander to wrap an arm around her shoulders to steady her.

Willow frowned. "What's a dementor?"

"They're a kind of demon," Giles explained, voice strained.

"They feed on positive human emotions," Sirius explained in a deadened tone. His expression was one that Xander had never seen on a man…haunted, as if he was reliving some sort of hell. "They literally suck them from a person until you are left with nothing but your worst feelings and memories. It's cold."

James reached out and put a hand on Sirius's arm, concern all over his face. "Padfoot…"

This seemed to break Sirius out of his thoughts. He gave James a weak smile. "I'm fine."

"Muggles can't see them, but they can feel them," Giles continued the explanation, shooting Sirius a slightly worried look. "Everyone can feel them. I hope you never have to, but…"

Lily took over at this point. "They are the guards at Azkaban, a prison for wizards and witches in the North Sea northeast of Scotland. Rupert spent a week there. Sirius was there for twelve years."

Xander's eyes went wide as his stomach clenched at the very idea. "Holy hell on earth."

Giles gave him a small smile. "Apt description."

"But what's this deal about them kissing people?" Willow asked.

Lily hesitated, glancing quickly at the very pale looking Dawn. "Perhaps Dawn should--"

"I want to hear this," the fifteen-year-old cut her off before she could finish.

Lily hesitated a moment longer then gave in. "It's called the Dementor's Kiss. It's the most terrifying thing they can do."

Xander raised a doubtful brow. "_That's_ the most terrifying thing they do? Cause the feeding on happy was all hugs and kittens."

"They put their jaws around the mouth of the intended victim and suck out that person's soul," Lily said slowly.

Willow gave a small squeak beside him. Dawn's hands were over her mouth, tears welling in her eyes. Xander didn't register any other reaction. He was to busy dealing with the feeling of being smacked in the brain with a brick wrapped in a lemon.

"The victim continues to live," he heard Lily's continued explanation though his gaze was fixed very intently in the white of his shoe, "but…well…It's used by our people as a kind of capital punishment. Quite controversial."

"So your people actually use these things?" Buffy asked in a low voice, causing Xander to look back up.

"Not anymore," Spike said. "They've revolted and gone over to Voldemort's side. He lets them feed at will."

"On normal innocent people?" Willow asked in a shrill voice, clearly upset. "And children!"

Tara wrapped an arm around her girlfriend as she looked up at Giles, expression pained. "What kind of monster is this man?"

"A kind of the very worst," Giles replied with the utmost seriousness.

"There were many more murders of witches and wizards soon after that," Spike continued, unfazed.

Sirius looked up at Spike as he clearly braced himself. "Who?"

"Let's see," Spike said as he flipped through the parchment pages. "Dedalus Diggle. Olympe Maxime. There was one entire family basically torn apart, along with their kids. The, uh, it's smudged. Starts with a W."

Sirius blanched, horrified at this news. "Oh, no…"

"The Whitbys," Spike finished.

The relief came over Sirius visibly. He closed his eyes and let out a breath. "Oh."

Spike glanced at him and raised an eyebrow. "You okay?"

Sirius nodded stiffly as he opened his eyes. "Yes. Please, do continue."

"Right, Bernard Whitby, wife Laura, and two sons, Kevin, age twelve, and Samuel, age seven."

Dawn silently mouthed the word, "Seven?"

"Two of the faculty at Hogwarts. Sibyll Trelawney and Pomona Sprout. Several Aurors. Proudfoot, Scrimgeour, Shacklebolt, Dawlish--"

"Kingsley?" Sirius asked in a shaky voice, becoming paler and paler with each name.

Spike nodded. "Yep."

James and Lily were at Sirius's side in an instant. "I'm sorry, Sirius."

"Euphorbs, Bryant, Gateway, Ruskin. I could go on and on."

"What about Tonks?" Sirius asked, tone much stronger as he mentioned the name. "Nymphadora Tonks."

Spike grabbed another paper and flipped through it, shaking his head. "No mention of her except that she fought at the Ministry of Magic the night you died. Says here she was fine. Though a Ted and Andromeda Tonks are dead. Murdered by her sister, Bellatrix _Black_ Lestrange. Any relation?"

Lily hugged her friend tightly. "Oh, god, Sirius."

"His cousins," James replied for the very quiet Sirius.

"There were three other Muggle attacks. A section of the Underground caved in in London. No survivors, seventy-three dead. A hotel caught fire in Edinburgh. Thirty-nine dead, sixty-two injured. And there was a football game in France. An entire side of the stadium collapsed. One hundred and eleven dead, nearly two hundred wounded."

"Those were all on the news," Xander said as he remembered the reports of the horrible accidents that had seemed to plague Europe over the summer. "He did all that?"

Spike nodded. "And his followers, the Death Eaters."

"He's been busy," Giles muttered bitterly.

"He wants to make a statement," Sirius said quietly. "He's back."

"Last, but not least, the Canons season opener against the Pride of Portree was attacked. Many wounded, forty-three fatalities, plus half the players. In four months, over three hundred witches, wizards, and Muggles have either died, been Kissed, or gone missing in Western Europe. That's not counting wounded."

"Three hundred?" Buffy repeated slowly.

"Yes."

"What about…what about Harry?" Lily asked as if she really didn't want to know.

It was Giles that answered. Holding up his roll of parchment. "He's alive, safe and sound at Hogwarts, according to Albus."

Lily nodded and James wrapped an arm around his wife.

"So let me get this straight," Buffy said to Giles slowly as she paced in front of him. "This guy is doing this now? Why wasn't I told?"

"You were dead," Giles said simply.

"But he was back before I died," Buffy argued.

"I didn't know then," Giles explained. "They only admitted he was back four months ago."

"It's a long story, filled to the brim with corruption in the government," Sirius backed Giles up.

"Shouldn't we do something?" Willow asked in a high-pitched voice.

"You have done something very important," Giles reluctantly said. "My own personal feelings aside, Harry Potter is our best hope of defeating Voldemort once and for all. You resurrected the three people who are best equipped to protect and guide him. That's a huge contribution."

Dawn sighed and looked down at Lily, James, and Sirius, all of whom were still on the floor. "So you really do need to go, hm?"

"I asked you all here to let you know what was happening, because I feel you have the right to know," Giles explained to his charges. "First thing tomorrow morning, I'm taking Lily, James, and Sirius back to England. Back to Harry."

There were no arguments. Everyone understand the why. But it was still something the Scoobies didn't want to happen.

Finally, Willow stood and smiled down at the three Brits. "We'll miss you."

Lily pushed herself up to her feet and wrapped her arms around Willow in a tight hug. "We'll miss you, too."

Buffy gave Sirius a small smile and held her hand out to him. "If you need us…anything…"

Sirius accepted the hand and let Buffy pull him up. "We'll come back for Christmas if we can manage it. And bring Harry."

Buffy nodded and sighed. "I don't like the idea of you going over to all that."

"He's our son, Buffy," Lily said, still arm in arm with Willow. "You gave your life for Dawn. You must understand."

Buffy gave the redheaded witch a smile. "I do."

An uncomfortable silence descended upon the room.

"It's late," Tara said suddenly with a quick look at Dawn.

Dawn shrugged. "Who can sleep after all that?"

"Who's for pizza?" Xander suggested.

Dawn's hand immediately shot up. "Me!"

"We'll make a real feast out of it," Willow said with a smile. "Complete with hot wings and cheese sticks."

Buffy nodded, then held a hand out to James. "Are you sure there's nothing more we can do to help?"

"We don't want you going into that," James said as he allowed Buffy to pull him to his feet. "You're safer here, even on the Hellmouth."

"I am going to send you some information on nearby facilities where the untrained can go for training," Sirius was telling Tara. "You all need it. Especially Willow."

Then, then beginning goodbyes were interrupted by the sound of three sharp knocks at the front door.

Everyone froze.

"Who could that be?" Buffy asked with a frown. "Everyone I know lives here."

"I'll get it," Willow offered, then slid out of the living room into the entrance hall.

Xander frowned too. Whenever someone rang Buffy's doorbell at one in the morning, badness usually followed.

Later, he would hate being right.

---

---

Willow swung the door open and looked out into the night cautiously, expecting any manner of hell-beast to pop out at her. Instead she was met with the kindest blue eyes she had ever seen.

The two men standing outside on the porch seemed pleasant enough, though a lifetime on the Hellmouth had long since taught her that appearances were very deceiving. They were both pretty weird looking. The one on her right and slightly behind the other man was the youngest of the two by far. He watched her with a guarded expression, grey eyes shrouded in cautious mistrust. Even still, he gave off a very warm and friendly vibe. He looked about Giles age, with light brown hair that was speckled with the occasional gray, though Willow could tell he was actually younger. He was quite thin and wearing an old-looking tweed suit underneath a slightly tattered brown robe that looked like it had come straight out of a _Star Wars _convention. He had a tired, sickly look about his eyes, one that would have made Willow worry for his health if she knew him better.

The man closest to the door was quite elderly, with very long silvery white hair that reached down past his hips. He had a beard and mustache that was just as long as was dressed in very ornate blue and silver robes and a purple cloak. He was fairly tall, though thin, and his blue eyes twinkled as he examined her just as carefully over his half-moon shaped glasses.

He smiled kindly at Willow. "Ah, good evening. Would you be Miss Summers?"

"Uh…no," Willow answered carefully, still wary of the two strangers who had yet to introduce themselves, though Willow was beginning to think Watcher's Council since the elderly man spoke with a heavy accent. "Who are you?"

The man flustered a bit at her question as if he were quite embarrassed at being caught being so rude. He straightened and held out his hand cordially to Willow. "Oh, I beg your pardon. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and this is a colleague of mine, Remus Lupin. It was my understanding that this is the home of Buffy Summers."

Willow couldn't even begin to try and pull herself together enough to reply. Hogwarts. She instantly recognized it as the school Giles, Lily, James, and Sirius had said they attended. Which meant these men were wizards and--

A very rattled and nervous looking Giles appeared at the door beside her, a bit twitchy at this unexpected arrival. "It is."

The man who had introduced himself as Albus Dumbledore became quite excited at the sight of Giles. He smiled widely and shifted so that his hand was now extended to Giles instead of Willow. "Rupert, my boy, it's wonderful to see you again!"

"Headmaster," Giles greeted warmly as he took Mr. Dumbledore's, though his eyes darted about very anxiously. He spared a nod for the younger man. "Lupin."

Mr. Lupin nodded politely back to Giles, though Willow instantly saw that he wasn't nearly as thrilled as his elder companion to see Giles. Actually it was more of the opposite. "Hello, Rupert. It has been a long time."

"Indeed," Giles agreed without missing a single beat. He instead turned back to Mr. Dumbledore. "This is an unexpected surprise."

"It is my general belief that all surprises should be unexpected," Mr. Dumbledore said with a completely serious face, though his eyes seemed to somehow twinkle from behind his glasses. Then he turned his jovial gaze to her. "And who might this lovely young lady be?"

"Oh, pardon me," Giles said before motioning to Willow. "May I introduce Willow Rosenberg." Willow barely had time to smile at the pair before Giles continued, "Willow, this is Hogwarts' Headmaster Albus Dumbledore."

"So you're the guy that runs the magic school?" Willow asked as she accepted the hand he offered once again.

He squeezed her hand gently and gave a small chuckle. "Never have I heard it put quite so eloquently."

Willow decided instantly that she liked the sound of his laugh. It was full and warm and sounded like happiness. And his aura screamed safety and warmth. She knew she could come to like this man very much.

"And Remus Lupin," Giles continued, motioning to the younger man, but not before giving her a meaningful look. "He, um…well, he was a student at school with me. Five years below me."

Willow faltered a bit as she tried to deduce the meaning of Giles's words as she shook the younger man's hand as he started to sniffle slightly. "Five years?" she repeated, trying to work it out in her head. If this man was five years below Giles, then he would be thirty-six -years-old, which would… "Then that would make him the same age as…_That _Remus!"

Willow's eyes went wide and she smiled widely. This was him. The last member of James, Sirius, and Lily's pseudo-family…well, besides James and Lily's son. She couldn't help but feel warm inside as she shook his head more enthusiastically now that she had realized. Within the next five minutes, she was going to make this man extremely happy. "Wow! Nice to meet you."

Giles wasn't quite so exuberant. He seemed very nervous, as if unsure how to go about what needed to happen next with these men. "Headmaster, forgive my forward attitude, but what are you doing here?"

Mr. (Headmaster?) Dumbledore's jovial attitude sobered a bit as he became more serious, though he still exuded some kind of charm. "Well, Rupert, it seems that the American Bureau of Magic actually sensed a magical signature on the Hellmouth a week or so ago. It was very faint, but I'd hazard a guess that it was some quite impressive magics. After receiving your letter, I must admit that I felt quite the urge to come by for a chat."

"And I couldn't let Albus come alone," Mr. Lupin added as he gazed distrustfully at Giles.

Willow was confused by this though and turned to Giles for some clarification. "I thought Hellmouths blocked magic signatures."

"They do," he replied simply.

So… "Oh."

Mr. Lupin's sniffles were turning into very strong sniffs. Especially around her. Willow frowned at this rude invasion of her space. "Do you need some tissues?"

"Hmm?" Mr. Lupin asked, looking down at her in surprise as if just remembering she was there. Then he reddened slightly and shook his head. "Oh, no, thank you. Just smell some…rather odd smells."

Willow's annoyance bloomed into a small bit of worry. "I smell?"

"What?" Mr. Lupin asked, shocked by the way she had taken his words. "No!"

"Rupert, I hate to be rude, but would you mind terribly if we came in?" Headmaster Dumbledore asked, gesturing down to his billowing blue and silver robes. "We're not dressed for Muggles as it were."

Giles obviously did not know what to do next. "Well, Headmaster, it…well…oh, bloody hell…"

This uncertain behavior from Giles seemed to concern the Headmaster more than anything. "Rupert? Are you well?"

"Let them in, Giles!" Sirius suddenly called from the living room, tone edged with his own anxiousness and a little bit of annoyance.

Both the Headmaster and Mr. Lupin seemed to recognized Sirius's voice. Their gazes snapped up and Giles barely had time to pull Willow aside as the two wizards barreled through the door and into the living room. Willow turned to watch the impending reunion.

Dawn was still sitting in her chair. Spike was leaning against the wall, but this time the opposite wall in the back of the room . Buffy, Xander, Tara, and Anya had all moved more towards the kitchen. James, Lily, and Sirius stood together in front of the fireplace. All three smiled at the two newcomers nervously. Lily waved.

"Well," Headmaster Dumbledore said a hoarse tone of voice. "Unexpected surprises indeed."

Then Remus Lupin keeled over and flopped unceremoniously on the floor, completely unconscious.

---

A/N: YAY! The Marauders are finally all reunited (well, the ones that count). Big yay for Remus especially. And Dumbledore was actually taken by surprise. Lol.

If you haven't noticed, the action is finally heating up (takes me a while to get there, huh?). Be sure to keep on my ass about getting the next few chapters up quick. A lot is gonna happen, especially in the next, um, I think it's four chapters. Huge plot turn arounds. Though no Harry, at least not yet. The more you guys hound me, the quicker I feel pressured to get them finished, lol. Though they're pretty close to being done anyway.

And don't forget to please REVIEW!


	20. A Night for Reunions

Sirius Black had quickly become physically tired and emotionally weary during their explanation of the war against Voldemort. Or, he should say, the first war. And the thought of a pizza feast, saying goodbye to this new group of friends, returning to said war…with none other than Rupert Giles…that brought with it all kinds of emotions. Excitement, sadness, happiness, anxiety. But even though he had mixed emotions on leaving Buffy and her friends in Sunnydale, above all, he knew he wanted very much to be with Remus and Harry again. And to bring James and Lily with him.

Then little Willow Rosenberg answered the front door.

Now, Albus Dumbledore was standing just inside the living room rooted to his spot, eyes glued on Sirius, James, and Lily. And Remus was lying on the floor after suffering what looked to have been a rough landing.

Sirius crossed the room in three giant strides then leaned down with his hands on his thighs and looked at the man sprawled on the floor with a serious expression. His old friend lay there, eyes closed and mouth open, looking a bit as if he'd been hit with the Killing Curse. "We killed Remus."

"He's not dead," Lily said with a small, delighted smile as she practically skipped over to Remus and knelt down beside him. "He's just unconscious."

"Albus?" Sirius glanced up to see James between Dumbledore and Remus, giving the old Headmaster a look of concern as he waved his hand slightly in front of with elder wizard's face. "Are you all right?"

Sirius almost burst out laughing as Dumbledore simply stared at James, completely and totally shocked. Sirius had used to think it was impossible to surprise Dumbledore. "I think he's in shock, Prongs."

Dumbledore blinked quite rapidly at the comment before trying to compose himself with obvious effort. He glanced at Sirius then back at James, trying to look a little dignified. "I am not in shock, Sirius, and I thank you for your concern, James." Then he seemed to remember whom he was addressing and he lost a little of the composure he had regained as he murmured, "Potter."

James grinned widely and glanced back at Sirius. "He is in shock."

"I am _not_ in shock," Dumbledore protested, seeming to finally regain most of his composure.

Sirius looked back down to where Lily was busy mothering Remus. She was lightly stroking his hair, pushing the graying locks out of his face and around his brow. "Remus?" she called to him in a soothing tone. "Remus, wake up."

James turned to finish the three-person semi-circle they had formed around their fallen friend as the werewolf began to twitch a bit. Squinting, Remus opened his eyes, focusing on Lily, who was blocking Sirius and James from entering the werewolf's main line of sight. "Uh?" Remus moaned before blinking to focus better on Lily. Then he raised a hand to his forehead and gave it a quick pat. "Oh. I think I hit my head."

Lily grinned and backed away a bit so Remus could see James and Sirius more clearly. Sirius smirked down at the old Marauder. "You didn't hit anything, Moony."

Remus's eyes went wide and he pushed himself up a bit on one elbow as he gazed unblinkingly at him. "Sirius?"

James hooked his hands up under Remus's shoulders and pulled him up to his feet. Remus stumbled a bit, looking wildly from Sirius, to Lily, then around to James. James just smiled and casually slung his arm around Remus's shoulders. "Remus."

"James…" Remus breathed out in awe as he looked first to James, then the redhead at his other side. "Lily…"

"Buffy, Anya," Xander said in a low tone, mimicking Remus's tone.

Sirius grinned as he watched both Buffy and Anya reached out to smack the boy hard without taking their eyes off the reunion playing out before them. Little Dawn was in tears, though smiling, as she watched in rapt attention. Tara had one hand over her heart and the other pressing against her mouth. Women.

"Ow!" Xander muttered before falling silent.

Remus took no notice of any of this. He was still looking from Sirius, to James, to Lily, alternately. "It can't be true."

"Sorry to say it is," James replied with a chortle as he gave Remus a hearty smack on the back. "Looks like you're stuck with us again, eh?"

Remus just stared over at James, still not quite in his right mind. "How?"

"It was the, er, the redhead," Sirius said pointing to Willow, who was standing just inside the door to the front hall.

Dumbledore followed Sirius's gesture to regard Willow seriously. "Willow, is that correct?"

Willow paled a bit, but nodded firmly. "Willow Rosenberg, sir."

"I can't honestly say that I'm very familiar with the Rosenberg family," Dumbledore said apologetically. "Did your parents attend Salem Witch's Institute, Legerdemain Conservatory, Meramills Academy, or the Rocky Mountain School of Magic?"

Willow blinked, looking very much like a deer "Uh…none of the above?"

"Muggle-born?" Dumbledore asked, suddenly looking delighted.

Willow shrugged. "I guess."

"Untrained," Anya muttered from her place across the room, though it was loud enough for Sirius to hear.

Apparently Dumbledore heard her too for he whirled around where he stood, eyes locking on the strange little shopkeeper. Once he saw her, he frowned a bit, looking very grave indeed. "Anyanka?

Anya visibly swallowed before crossing the room halfway and smiling nervously at Dumbledore. "Hi, Albus."

Sirius wasn't all that surprised Anya knew the Headmaster. Dumbledore seemed to have contacts everywhere, having taken most of his hundred and fifty years to build those contacts up. But his reaction to Anya confused the Animagus. Dumbledore's expression was very guarded, as if he were suspicious. He seemed to be calculating something as he carefully regarded Anya. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here," Anya said, in a forcefully even tone. "Well, not here as in this house, but in Sunnydale. There were some big changes in my life. Good changes."

Understanding suddenly lit Dumbledore's eyes, and a bit of their twinkle seemed to return to them. "My, my, my, you're human," he murmured softly, a small smile forming on his lips. He seemed to be far more relaxed around Anya as she confirmed this with a small nod. "Isn't this quite the surprise?"

"I've adjusted," Anya said, nervousness fading a bit as she blushed slightly as if Dumbledore had just paid her high praise.

Dumbledore's smile became a full one. "I daresay you have if you're once again wielding your human-based magics."

"A little," Anya said with a small grimace. "I can't do much."

Dumbledore nodded appreciatively. "So, you fight _with_ the Slayer, then?"

"For the past several years now," Anya explained, now looking completely relaxed. Then she pointed over her shoulder to her boyfriend. "And I'm involved with Xander. He's my…boyfriend."

Xander did not seem comfortable with all eyes on him. He smiled nervously and gave Dumbledore a small nod. "Hi."

Dumbledore nodded back, before turning gentle eyes back to Anya. "I'm so happy for you, my dear girl. I always hoped the best for you."

Anya blushed full this time. "Thank you."

"So, Albus," Spike drawled, pushing away from the wall and swaggering towards the old wizard. "It's been a very long time."

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow, but did not look too surprised at Spike's appearance. Sirius figured that after that night, nothing would ever shock the Headmaster again.

"William?" Dumbledore asked, looking Spike up and down.

Spike smirked and held his hand out to Dumbledore. "It's good to see you."

"Interesting to see you in the home of the Slayer," Dumbledore said as he took Spike's hand firmly in his own. "What in the name of Merlin have you been up to?"

"Spike's converted," Dawn quipped with a smile from her seat. "He's a good guy."

"I am not _good_," Spike snapped, shooting the girl a dark look.

Dawn was unfazed. "Right," she said sarcastically. "He's the big bad turned helpless puppy."

Spike frowned, dropping Dumbledore's hand. "Hey!"

"I think I know better than most the two natures William possesses," Dumbledore said cheerfully, winking at Dawn. "When he is good, he can be very good. But when he is bad…"

A hand on his shoulder turned Sirius away from the display. He looked up to see Remus regarding him gravely. Sirius sighed, knowing how hard the past months must have been on his old friend. "Remus, I know it's a shock, but—oof!"

Sirius was cut off as Remus's surprisingly strong arms captured him in a strong embrace. He could hear the emotion thick in Remus's voice as he said, "I thought I'd lost you again."

Sirius felt a lump form in his throat and was quick to return Remus's hug. "See that's the problem with me," he said with a slightly forced smile as he pulled back a bit from the werewolf. "No matter what you do, you just can't get rid of me."

James nodded as he threw Sirius a solemn look. "Yeah, you survived death, Azkaban…your mother…"

"You're one to talk, Mr. Been-Dead-For-Fifteen-Years," Lily muttered, rolling her eyes at her husband's sense of ill-timed humor.

James cast Lily a glance out of the corner of his eye before turning to raise a questioning brow. "You're not any better, you've been dead for fifteen years too."

Lily smirked at her husband. "That's Mrs. Been-Dead-For-Fifteen-Years to you."

"Fourteen years and fifty minutes," James corrected her confidently. "I died before you, right? That means I've been dead the longest."

Lily scoffed as she looked at her husband in disbelief. "You're proud of that fact? It just means I lasted longer."

"Untrue since I'm a month older," James countered cockily.

Lily's eyes went wide, before narrowing as she gazed at her husband in fury. "Why you arrogant, snot-nosed, son of a…"

Sirius watched the pair begin the dance they'd perfected so many years before.

Beside him, Remus watched in disbelief. "They're bickering," he said in an awed tone.

Sirius snorted, turning to his friend and raising an eyebrow. "What else did you expect, Moony?"

Remus rolled his eyes and gave Sirius a look. "I didn't expect _this_, Padfoot."

"Will you two straighten up!" Giles snapped as he pulled James and Lily apart.

They both looked down, properly chastised.

"Sorry, Rupert," Lily mumbled.

"I'm not paid enough for this," Giles muttered as he turned and walked away from the arguing pair. He took his glasses off, pinching the bridge of his nose, looking very much like a man suffering from a massive migraine. Dawn smiled and rose to her feet, offering her seat in the comfortable chair to the Watcher.

Giles nodded his thanks, taking the seat, and Dawn made her way to the hall, leaned against the stair rail in the far less-crowded area, and crossed her arms in front of her. She looked ready for a good show.

Dumbledore took a deep breath, his composure completely restored and his eyes twinkling brightly. "Well," he started merrily as he finally moved from where he had stopped dead at the sight of Lily, James, and Sirius. "This is a day for renewing old friendships…in several different ways," the old wizard added slyly as he looked over to Spike and Anya.

Then Dumbledore's attention focused on Willow. He stepped up to the redhead and took one of her hands in both of his, leading her over to sit next to him on the sofa. "Now, my dear Miss Rosenberg, come tell me about this spell you performed."

Willow shifted nervously as she tried to settle into her seat. "It was, uh, it was the Plea to Osiris."

"Ah, very powerful spell," Dumbledore murmured merrily. "Though I've never before heard it being performed successfully."

Willow blinked and frowned. "Never?"

Dumbledore nodded at the befuddled redhead. "Never. Now, who were the other witches and wizards with you?"

"Others?" Xander repeated with a frown.

Dumbledore glanced over at the boy and gave a nod. "The anchors."

Willow motioned vaguely to where most of her friends still stood together. "Tara and Xander. And Anya, too."

Dumbledore looked over at Tara and Xander and smiled brightly. "Ah. I'll assume that, besides Anyanka, neither of you have ever received any type of formal training either."

"Tara was accepted to Legerdemain," Lily told their old Headmaster, "but was forced to turn down the offer."

Dumbledore nodded, a look of brief sadness in his twinkling eyes. "A pity. And you, Mr.…what was your name again?"

Xander was not keeping up with the conversation. In fact, he looked a few steps away from total panic. "Hold up a minute. You're not implying that I'm a…man-witch, are you?"

"We prefer the term 'wizard'," James said dryly.

Sirius almost laughed as Xander's mouth dropped open. Sirius hadn't realized that the boy had honestly never known he had magical potential. It had been obvious to him since he met him that Xander, while very Muggle inclined, had latent abilities he sometimes put to good use. Case and point Sirius and the others' resurrections, a spell which Xander had said he had been a part of. Had he only thought he was just ritual dressing?

Apparently, Xander wasn't the only one in denial. There were definitely two camps, with no in between. There were the people who had obviously known about Xander, Sirius, James, Lily, Willow, Tara, and Giles. And then the people who hadn't, Anya, Spike, Buffy, Dawn, and Xander himself.

"Xander's never shown any aptitude for magic," Anya said with slight distaste. "He's utterly and completely Muggle."

Xander shot his girlfriend a look. "The words were nice, but somehow, the insult still remained."

"I thought Xander was Jimmy Olsen," Buffy said quietly, looking to her Watcher.

Giles gave an uncomfortable shrug. "Well, he's shown natural ability, but never any interest in developing it."

"Well, I might have if I'd known!" Xander suddenly exclaimed, looking very lost at the thought of possessing any kind of useful ability.

"How could you not know?" Tara asked in a gentle tone. "The signs were all there."

Xander frowned, looking doubtful. "Like what?"

"The love spell with Amy," Willow said, ticking off a finger.

"Amy did the spell," Xander argued immediately.

Willow sighed. "Amy was the primary, yes. You were the one that messed up the spell."

Xander frowned even harder. "What do you mean?"

"The spell was counter-fluxed by the magical signature you were emitting through your emotions," Giles explained quietly.

Xander's expression was almost comical. "Huh?"

Willow rolled her eyes, then clarified, "You got mad and made it go boom."

"Xander, you've done other obvious things too," Tara explained to him. "This spell, obviously. The joining spell you all used to take down Adam."

"Oh, the time you lit that book on fire at Giles's place," Willow added with a sage nod.

"That was an accident," Xander almost whined at that.

Albus chuckled at Xander from his seat on the sofa. "Natural magic. Even if one never develops one's talent to its fullest extent doesn't meant that talent isn't still there."

"You are a wizard, Xander," Willow said almost apologetically. "You've got the stuff."

Xander seemed to be losing the will to argue. "But…the schools…owl mail…"

Lily frowned, the asked, "Were you born here?"

Xander shrugged. "We moved here something like ten months later, but, basically, I've lived here my entire life."

Sirius blinked. There were so many things about this boy that brought up questions. "No, you haven't," he said. "That makes you a regular Muggle-born that was overlooked."

Willow nodded. "It's one of the reasons I chose this spell. It only required three anchors. While vampires can do ritual magic okay, complicated magics don't tend to go well with a vamp in the mix. And I didn't really want to get Dawn's hopes up, just in case, plus the youth. That left me with three people, all of whom I knew had power. So this was the spell we went for."

Buffy turned to look at the redhead, narrowing her eyes. "What do you mean, you didn't want to get Dawn's hopes up? She's a Muddle."

"Muggle," Lily corrected instinctively.

"Buffy, come on, she's the Key," Willow said with a small smile. "She has a very ancient power lying in her blood, one she's demonstrated that she can use on occasion. It's a sure bet she can do spellcraft."

"Is anyone I know a normal Muggle?"

"Well, you are," Sirius replied, feeling a little sad for the girl. "You're the Slayer, which means you're a magical being, but that doesn't make you a witch."

Buffy stopped and frowned. "Oh. Swell. Guess I'm odd gal out."

"But why would you want to attempt to raise Sirius, James, and Lily?" Remus asked, confusion marring his face. "Whatever potential or background you have, you seem to live as Muggles. Do you even know of Voldemort?"

"We do now," Buffy said. "They just told us, like, ten minutes before you got here."

Remus wasn't satisfied. "Then why--"

"We weren't trying to raise them," Willow answered in a rush. "I mean, we're glad we did, but…well…"

"My sister died," Dawn finished for the flustered witch. "Back in May."

Dumbledore nodded, then frowned. "I'm sorry, and you are?"

"Dawn," the fifteen-year-old introduced herself meekly. "Dawn Summers."

Remus's eyebrows went straight up. "_You're _the Key?"

Dawn nodded slowly, her cheeks tingeing red as she shifted uncomfortably against where she leaned on the stair rail.

"Since when are you human?" Remus asked, the Professor coming out in him visibly.

Dawn shrugged and looked down at the floor. "Since Glory killed all the monks."

"Glorificus?" Dumbledore asked, his expression becoming quite serious. "She has risen?"

"Oh, she did," Willow explained, drawing the attention away from the uncomfortable looking Dawn, "but we stopped her. _Buffy_ stopped her. But she died doing it."

"It was a mystical death and we knew she was…not in a nice place," Xander continued.

Lily, James, and Sirius grimaced.

"So we did what any good friend would do," Willow said with a bright smile. "We pulled her out."

Sirius flinched again, especially when he saw the pinched look on Buffy's face. It was so fake, the smile, he wondered how the others couldn't see it.

Tara continued the tale for her girlfriend. "But when we…when we did the spell…James and Lily and Sirius…they sort of just appeared in the middle of it."

"Naked," Anya added with a smile.

James frowned and cast the sex-crazed former demon a look. "I thought we decided not to mention that ever again."

Dumbledore's cheerful look darkened a bit at this. "You didn't call them back?"

Willow shook her head. "Nope. It just sort of happened."

Remus was again filled with questions. "But what--"

"We're working on it," James reassured their friend. "It's only been five days."

"Well, I know I…" Sirius started but trailed off as he heard a noise behind him. He turned to see Dawn leaning against the stair rail, staring at the knob of the front door, which was rattling.

Dawn looked up as Sirius turned and took a step into the hall his curiosity getting the better of him. She stepped towards it too, eyes going wide. "Um…"

"Is that locked?" Sirius asked, watching the doorknob shake more and more forcefully.

Dawn frowned as she half-turned to Sirius. "It should be."

Then the door suddenly splintered, the force of it sending Dawn crashing to the floor. Sirius himself, stumbled back into Remus, catching him off guard, and they both went down as well.

Sirius looked up as he tried to push his friend off of him just in time to see a very angry looking M'Fashnik demon step through the door shattered door. James stared at the demon for a moment, then down at Dawn, who was lying on the ground. He tried to move for her, but was stopped as the demon suddenly backhanded him hard, sending him sailing into the air and crashing back down on the stair rail, shattering it.

The demon looked down at Dawn, who was pushing herself up into a sitting position.

"You're not the Slayer," the M'Fashnik growled as Dawn looked up at it with large eyes. "But you'll do for a start."

Dawn could only scream.

---

---

Lily Potter's hand went instinctively to her side as she watched the demon bare down on little Dawn Summers. But there was nothing there. Five days back in the land of the living had left very little time for much of anything. The first priority had been getting used to actually being alive. There had also been a lot of hunger. Anya had made tentative plans with them to drive them the two hours it took to get down to Los Angeles on Monday. Apparently, there was a Gregorovitch shop there. But new wands, while on the top ten list of things to do, had yet to be dealt with. And in hearing the young sweet girl screaming in the face of the monster, Lily had wished they had made it top priority.

Thankfully, Remus suffered no such problem. Before Buffy was even halfway to her sister's aid, Remus was whipping the familiar-looking, if not a bit more worn than Lily remembered, length of willow through the air. "_Petrificus totalus!_"

The demon froze in mid-lunge.

So did Buffy, though not from magic but out of surprise. Everyone else seemed to have been stopped in the middle of a burst of adrenaline. Xander looked over at Willow, clearly trying to figure out what to do.

Buffy sighed and glowered at the demon. "You're payin' for that door, buddy."

"Is this the M'Fashnik guy?" Dawn asked in a small voice as Remus and Sirius helped her up.

Buffy looked at the demon and nodded. "That's him."

"Well. That was painless."

"Speak for yourself," came a moan from the stairs.

Lily felt her heart skip a beat as she remembered her husband. She pushed her way past the others to where James was laying amid a pile of wood. "Oh, sweetheart…" she murmured as she knelt down and gathered him into her arms.

James's new glasses were broken, lying in pieces in his hands. He cradled them dejectedly as he leaned into Lily, welcoming her mothering like a hurt little boy. She smiled and rubbed his chest with one hand while examining the angry red mark on his forehead. "I don't think you have a concussion."

"It broke my new glasses," he mumbled forlornly.

"The door's broken, too," Buffy muttered as she looked down at the pieces of wood with a hopeless sort of expression.

Remus smiled and stepped forward. "Not to worry."

With a few flicks of the wand, the door was whole, closed, and locked again, the stair rail was better than new, James's concussion was gone, and his glasses were sitting back on the bridge of his nose.

Buffy turned to Remus, the grateful look in her eyes overwhelming. "I love you," she told Remus, stepping forward to place a hand on his arm. "Will you marry me?"

Remus looked quite taken aback. And then, after the look Sirius gave him, a bit frightened. "Uh…"

"Well, I guess we should get down to business," Albus said merrily, as if a demon crashing in and interrupting a conversation was a regular occurrence for him. Which it might have been. Lily had been dead for quite some time and Dumbledore had always led a rather complicated life. "Remus, some of the demon's blood, if you please. We will also need--"

Sirius was already two steps ahead of Albus. He knelt down beside the box of items he had "borrowed" from the Magic Box despite Anya's very vocal protestations and grabbed the Mephistopheles Stone. He then held it up for Albus to see. "We got it."

Albus nodded then looked over at the demon still frozen in place by Remus's powerful Body-Bind. He waited until Remus had made a quick cut in its arm and siphoned off quite a bit of blood into a plastic cup he'd gotten from somewhere, then lazily pointed his own wand at the demon. "_Evanesco!_"

Lily watched as the M'Fashnik vanished. Then she sighed as she watched Albus return his wand to the pocket sewn into his robes. There was no denying it. She was deep into a serious case of wand-envy.

"That's handy," Dawn said as she looked around at the house, which had no visible sign that a demon had crashed into it just five minutes previously. Then she snapped her gaze over to Remus. "Hey, can you fix the basement?"

Buffy's eyes went wide and she turned to Remus with a hopeful gleam in them. "No full copper re-pipe?"

"Let's do this thing before we forget," Sirius muttered with a dark look.

Lily grinned despite herself. The suspicions she'd had were now all but verified. Sirius had feelings for Buffy. Feelings that apparently ran deep despite the short amount of time he'd known the Slayer. That would be interesting to watch.

Lily helped her husband back up on his feet as the others moved the chair and coffee table back, making room for a small circle. Sirius placed the Stone on the floor and handed Lily the potion he and James had made earlier at the Magic Box.

"So what is this going to do?" Buffy asked as she watched them work.

Sirius looked up as he grabbed a broadsword from where it was propped in the corner. "It should bring to us the last person to control the demon."

Lily nodded before looking over her shoulder. "Everyone, weapon up."

Buffy took the axe Sirius held out for her then looked over at Remus. "You, be ready with your stick."

Remus smiled and brought his wand to bear. "As ever, Miss Summers."

They all gathered around the Stone, well, except for Dawn, who waited impatiently in the hall.

Albus nodded to Remus. "Do it."

Remus dumped the demon's blood on the Stone. "Okay, now, Lily."

Lily threw the potion onto the Stone, then closed her eyes as the brilliant flash they'd been expecting engulfed the room.

"That's it?" Xander asked as the light began to fade. "I figured, with the weird languages and maybe a dance."

"Our magic is pretty simple," James explained as he blinked back the spots Lily knew had to be dancing before his eyes, for they whirling swirling in front of hers. "Not as ritual based as Wicca."

Then Lily's vision cleared. Everyone was standing precisely where they had been in the circle. All where staring at the middle of the circle. The Stone and potion was gone. In their place were…three boys.

The boys stared back at them, surprised and a little frightened. They looked to be about Buffy's age. Maybe a little younger. They were dressed in a way that even Lily recognized as a bit…nerdish. One seemed to be holding a doll. The shortest one, for they were all a bit small, had a very large bone. And a wad of money in his hand.

They were completely unfamiliar to Lily. But not, it seemed, to the others.

Dawn burst out laughing.

Xander blinked in surprise. "Jonathan?"

"Warren?" Buffy asked in disbelief before looking over at the only blond boy. "Who are you?"

"Andrew," the boy replied in a small voice.

Buffy started to nod, then made a face. "Who?"

"I summoned the flying monkey's that attacked the school play," the boy explained nervously.

Buffy looked over to Willow and Xander. They both shrugged, obviously having no recollection of the event in question.

"Tucker's brother," the one called Warren explained quickly.

That seemed to be all the explanation Buffy needed, for she shouldered her axe and nodded. "Oh."

"_You_ hired the M'Fashnik?" Rupert asked doubtfully.

Jonathan frowned as he shifted on his feet nervously. "Not so much hired as--"

"Perfect," Buffy muttered, rolling her eyes. "What is this? Pain in my ass time?"

Warren stepped forward and blustered, "We're your arch-nemesises…ses."

Buffy seemed to be more confused and annoyed than anything. She looked over at her Watcher and raised an eyebrow. "Giles?"

Rupert looked a little lost. "Well…I'm not quite sure. They are human."

"They've all three done magic," Remus murmured as he held his wand on them steadily.

"Yes," Warren said in a deep tone, obviously trying to be impressive. Lily thought it was more pathetic than anything. "We are mighty Dark warlocks--"

"Ah," Albus interrupted what sounded like a well prepared speech, then turned and gave a nod to Remus. "Remus?"

Remus broke away from the circle and strode towards the three boys. "This will only take a minute."

The three boys looked confused, probably wondering whether or not they should be worried about a sickly-looking man, when Remus suddenly grabbed the three of them and disappeared, though with the noticeable lack the tell-tale _Pop!_ that accompanied Apparition. So Albus and Remus had been cautious enough about Rupert to bring an emergency Portkey with them. Interesting, probably more Remus's idea since she remembered Albus had trusted Rupert immensely, enough to suggest more than once that he been invited to the Order. That suggestion was always met by near unanimous argument, especially after the trials. Lily never really understood why Albus had hesitated to invite Rupert in, though she had learned long ago that no one could fully understand the mind of Albus Dumbledore.

"Where did he take them?" Dawn asked as she stared at the empty air where Remus and the three boys had been.

"There's a station for the Aurors in Los Angeles," Albus explained. "They'll probably be sent to Noraagast. I'm sure they'll be rehabilitated and become well-faring members of society…in about ten years or so."

"Well," Buffy drawled as she put her hurling axe down on the desk. "That was simple."

Remus then reappeared, alone. "You won't have anymore trouble from those three."

Willow watched all of this quietly, then turned to Albus and Remus. "Are you guys hungry? We were about to order pizza."

Remus frowned. "Pizza?"

Dawn nodded. "Sort of a farewell feast since Giles was gonna…" she trailed off as she turned big eyes to Lily, James, and Sirius. "But now you'll leave tonight, won't you?"

"We can at least stay for pizza," Lily reassured the girl before turning to Albus. "Can't we?"

"Certainly," Albus replied with a smile. "There are a few matters I need to discuss with Rupert. A feast seems to be quite appropriate."

"Great," Willow said with a bright smile. "I'll go order."

"I'll go with you," Xander added quietly before turning to follow Willow to the kitchen.

Buffy smiled uncomfortably at the group before motioning back to the kitchen. "We'll just…Dawn."

Then the Slayer grabbed her sister and hauled her out of the living room. Spike shrugged and followed.

Tara gave Albus and Remus a small smile. "They can subtle. Really."

Then she followed them, leaving Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, Albus, Rupert, and Anya to it.

Albus started with Anya first. "Anyanka, I scarcely know where to begin."

"Don't worry about it," she said dismissively before hurrying to follow her friends.

Rupert sighed and took his glasses off to clean before turning to Albus. "Well, what is it you wished to talk about?"

---

A/N: So in one move, the Troika is done. Of course, this means nothing. The Big Bad of Season Six, real grown-up type life, is still there. The nerds were always just window dressing.


	21. Painting the Roses Red

Anya Christina Emanuella Jenkins had a headache. It was a deep, painful sort of headache, fueled by strong conflicting emotions at everything that had happened since Giles had called them to the late night meeting at Buffy's. And she knew it wasn't going to go away. The ghosts of the past were swirling around her and, if she wasn't careful, she knew they could consume her.

First, they had gone and basically repeated the history of what they called the "First War Against Voldemort". The Dark Lord himself had called it the "Glorious Return to Wizard Supremacy", but Anya had rethought her position on that. Now she guessed it had been more of a civil war than anything. A civil war with a genocidal tyrant leading one side and a bumbling brainless inept government on the other. And the common sense people that had been caught in the middle, well, they had been shit-out-of-luck. Publicly, anyways. Anya had known their real enemies since day one, for as a former Death Eater she knew well of the existence of the Order of the Phoenix.

The memories brought up by the others' recount of those events of some twenty odd years ago had done little for her nerves. It was odd, hearing it from "the other side's" point of view. She had her memories, yes, but they were somewhat skewed, from both the delusions she'd been under at the actual time and the never-ending fear that had followed her after she had come back to her right frame of mind. She felt bad hearing how the others had suffered. She hadn't been aware that Giles had lost his mother.

Then they had moved past that Halloween of so many years ago. Of course, she knew the Dark Lord hadn't died in the attack on the Potters. But she hadn't known any better than anyone what had happened to him to cause his downfall. Black's information on that and this unknown Prophecy had been interesting. And the Dark Lord had been in Albania. She had looked for him, of course, working with the Bellatrix Lestrange, the crazy bitch that even Anya couldn't find anything good about, until she and several others had gotten themselves arrested. Then D'Hoffryn had ordered her to move on. So she had.

She hadn't heard about the Dark Lord's attempts to regain his power. Probably D'Hoffryn's doing. Though by that time she was starting to see all that had happened in a new light. Then she had turned human and fallen out of the loop completely.

Hearing about the Dark Lord's return had sickened her. Obviously, he had used a revivification potion he had learned through the contacts he'd made through her. And all of the suffering and death since his return only made it worse.

So many emotions were running through her. Overwhelming guilt for her role in the past. Disgust at the ideals she had once believed in. Horror at the atrocities that were occurring on a daily basis now. Terror for her safety. Even greater fear for Xander, especially now that she knew him to be a Muggle-born.

But most of all worry. Worry that her friends would find out her secret.

Albus Dumbledore. Of course he would show up with his impeccable timing even though he had no clue the Potters or Black were alive. She hadn't seen the man in years and could have lived out the remainder of her life quite happily without ever seeing him again.

It wasn't that she didn't like him. Dumbledore was damn near likable by everyone. Even the Dark Lord had a grudging respect for Dumbledore, though this was very twisted and dark of course. She didn't really know him that well at all. She had first met Dumbledore after he defeated Grindelwald. It had been a casual thing, his interest in her purely academic. But what had struck her most was that he hadn't cast judgment on her, which wizards tended to do.

Then the war started. Anya sided with her friends and the ideals she believed in. Dumbledore had been the enemy.

He always knew everything. That was the annoying thing about the wizard. They met for the second time with her standing at the Dark Lord's side. And he had said something that had stuck with her through the years.

But he was dangerous. Very dangerous. For he knew what Anya had been. And, even though she was pretty sure Spike knew considering the comments he'd made after the resurrections, she was terrified he'd tell someone else. Spike she could deal with, she knew things about him too. But Dumbledore, while not the type to reveal secrets, well, she had no control over him.

She rubbed her head as she walked through the hall door and into the kitchen. Tara was in the middle of grating some cheese over a particularly tasty looking salad she must have just thrown together. Dawn was arranging silverware on the counter as if preparing for a buffet. Spike was sitting on the countertop on the other side of the room, watching the two women as he chipped away at his nail polish. Buffy, Willow, and Xander were nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Xander?" she asked Tara, the frustration her pounding head was causing seeping into her tone.

Tara looked up at her and raised an eyebrow at Anya's tone. Anya couldn't be bothered to explain or apologize. Tara just gave her a small, knowing smile. "He went with Buffy and Willow to carryout."

Anya frowned, surprised. "Carryout?"

"And a quick patrol," Dawn explained as she arranged the forks carefully on the counter. "It would have been, like, over an hour for delivery. Plus, I'm pretty sure they have some new issues to work out."

Anya smiled a bit at that thought. She knew her fiancé and she knew he would be more than a little overwhelmed at his sudden new status as a potential wizard. "That bad, huh?"

"So, you know that old guy?" Dawn asked with all the tact of Cordelia Chase.

"Albus Dumbledore," Spike informed the girl in a bored tone.

Anya nodded. "Sorta, yeah."

"How?" Dawn asked curiously.

Anya looked over at Spike and nodded. "You first."

Spike rolled his eyes, then explained in a clipped tone, "I went to school with him when I was human."

Tara stopped grating the cheese and gave Spike a dubious look. "You went to school with him."

Spike didn't even blink. "Yep."

Tara frowned at the vampire, setting the cheese grater down. "Spike, for you to have gone to school with him he'd be over a hundred and fifty years old."

Spike smirked at this and relaxed even further on the countertop. "Actually, he's four years older than me."

Anya shot the vampire a look before turning to face the confused looking Dawn and Tara. "Practicing wizards and witches live longer than Muggles," she explained. "It's the magic, it sustains them longer. Well, you know, if they die of old age. When you live in the supernatural world, you add a whole bunch of ways you're likely to die. Like broom accidents or mishandled spells."

Dawn's eyes widened a bit. "Brooms?" she repeated as she stared at Anya with a handful of spoons clutched between her fingers. "Like…flying brooms?"

Spike snorted from his perch. "We should take them to a game sometime."

Anya shrugged. It had been a long time since she had seen a Quidditch match played. She could see Xander enjoying it. "I think the All-Stars are playing the Lightening Strikes next month."

Spike looked up at Anya, horrified. "American Quidditch? If they see anything, take them to a Falcons game."

"American Quidditch is okay," Anya told the vampire, rolling her eyes. "It's not as if I suggested taking them to a Quodpot match."

"What are you guys talking about?" Tara asked as she returned the cheese grater to the refrigerator.

Spike looked up at her with a completely open expression. "Quidditch."

Dawn raised a doubtful eyebrow and gave her the vampire a small smile. "Quidditch?"

"It's a sport played on brooms," Spike told her wryly. "They fly through the air, a bit like football."

Dawn's mouth dropped open, obviously having thought they were joking. "Flying broomstick sports?"

Tara wasn't quite as interested in wizarding sports as Dawn seemed to be. "How do you know Headmaster Dumbledore?" she asked Anya over her shoulder as she took a stack of plates down out of one of the cabinets.

_I kidnapped the bait in a trap set for him on August 3, 1977 so that he would die and the Dark Lord would rule unchallenged but he was too wise and ended up coming very close to smashing my power source and turning me mortal._

"It's a long story," Anya muttered as she leaned back against the doorframe.

Dawn shrugged. "Well, they'll be doing the tearful reunion thing for a while so--"

Suddenly, a familiar burning sensation shot through her left arm. Though she had become more than used to it in the year since the Dark Lord had returned, Anya was not fond of the painful reminder of her past shortcomings. She grit her teeth and clenched her fist as she tried to silently deal with the pain in a way that would be less suspicious to her friends. But she couldn't bite back the small hiss that escaped her at the intensity of the burn. "Ah."

Tara was, as ever, the attentive mothering type. She sat the stack of plates down and made a move towards Anya. "What?"

Anya was quick to back away, forcing a smile as she shook her head. "Nothing. I need to go to the bathroom."

Dawn gave her a weird look at this announcement and nodded towards the door to the front hall. "Then go."

Anya gave another nervous smile as she ducked out the door. There was nowhere private she could go. The living room was currently the setting of "Dreams Really Do Come True" and by the sounds of the emotional laughter and happy, tearful exclamations, that wasn't changing anytime soon. She could also hear Giles and Dumbledore deep in conversation in the dining room. She couldn't make the stairs without being seen by someone, so she settled on sitting on the hall floor closer to the living/dining room so she could hear if anyone was going to come upon her.

In the nonexistent privacy of the front hall, she rolled her sleeve up to examine her arm, careful to keep the glamour up anyways. At the edges of the glamour the skin was slightly tinged pink, a tribute to how deeply the Dark Mark had burned this time. Anya took a moment to be concerned. The Mark hadn't burned with such intensity in all the time he had been back, the effect of the Call lessened due to the sheer distance Anya had put between herself and the Dark Lord. While it could have been for any number of reasons, the fact that it was such a searing burn gave Anya more than just pause for concern.

Before she could fully form an explanation in her mind, a shadow fell across her. She looked up to see Spike towering over her, looking down at her with cool eyes. "What is it?" he asked, low enough so that the others wouldn't hear.

She grimaced and shook her arm so the sleeve would roll down. She didn't even bother with the pretence with Spike. If he hadn't been aware of her past before the resurrection, which she was almost positive he had been considering how much she knew about him and the fact that he had practically told her he knew when he had berated them for what they had done, then he had most certainly learned afterward. "He's calling them."

As she had suspected, Spike only nodded his understanding, gaze ticking down to her left arm before glancing out the window. "A bit early over there. Nearing or after sunrise."

She shrugged. She knew what he was getting at. The Dark Lord was almost as fond of the sun as vampires. "He usually doesn't call large gatherings in daylight hours."

He eyed her for a moment, eyes settling finally on the way she had her arm cradled carefully against her side. "Are you okay?"

"It's nothing," she half-lied. While she was used to the Call, her arm was still tender from the intense burn she had just gone through. "It burns on a regular basis now."

"You're going to have to talk with Albus," he changed tracks carefully. He regarded her unblinkingly, as if searching every detail of her for something. "He knows what you were, and I'm not talking about being a bloody demon."

She pouted a bit, not looking forward to the talk she knew was unavoidable. "I don't want to."

"Well that's just too damn bad," Spike replied a bit heatedly.

Anya's mood cooled considerably at that. She knew the part William the Bloody had played in the war well and she didn't care for his icy gaze or angry words. "You think I don't know about you, too?" she asked lowly, glowering at him from where she was seated. "Your nephew was furious about it. If made known to the right circles--"

The vampire bristled at the threat and moved sharply to the right as if to corner her. "Like it matters now that everyone knows I help you lot."

"It was before you were chipped," Anya argued back, knowing what he feared well. "Can't use that excuse anymore if this gets out."

Spike growled low in his chest as he regarded her with a dangerous look in his eyes for a moment. Then he let out his breath and took a step back, deferring to her threat. "I had my reasons."

"And I had mine," she stated, mirroring his icy tone.

He seemed to be amused by this argument. "You turned against your family. Even helped try to kill them. I protected mine. My boy and yours. What did you do?"

She felt herself pale a little at this, surprised by how much he seemed to know. Not even the Dark Lord had known, so few did. "I protected him as much as I could," she argued, though it sounded weak even to her ears. "Before and after."

He smirked at this, knowing he had her right where he wanted her. "I'm sure if we explained that to James and Sirius and Lily then--"

Anya reacted instantly. She was on her feet and had the slowly retreating Spike's duster clutched in her hands, more to plead with him than to stop him. "No!"

He looked smug at her reaction and pulled her hands from his duster none too gently. "The last of her line and you didn't do a thing to stop it."

Anya knew that the words shouldn't hurt. He knew a lot, that was obvious, but he didn't know everything. There had been so many extenuating circumstances, so many things that were beyond her control. But his carefully picked words still stung. "How did you find out?" she asked, her wrists still gripped tightly in his fists.

"I have my sources," he murmured lowly, eyes full of arrogance at his brilliance. "You think I work with anyone without knowing everything there is to know about them? I didn't make it this long for nothing."

Suddenly the fire of anger returned to her and she pulled her arms from his grip. She gave him a ruthless, brutal look, one filled with an infinite number of promises should he try and go against her. "If you want to make it any longer then get away from me."

Spike just smirked. But then he inclined his head a bit before stepping around her and back towards the kitchen.

Anya sat back down on the floor, now emotionally miserable as well as physically sore.

"So, Albus, why are you here?" she listened to Giles ask from the dining room.

"Honestly, Rupert, I am afraid I have some very bad news. Voldemort knows about the power surge detected here."

That caught Anya's attention. The Dark Lord had always been very careful to keep lookout for anything that was capable of posing a threat to him. It was the reason he had been so quick to "take care of" the problem that could have been the Potter infant. There had been many other situations he had addressed that she knew of, involving other children, demons, unwitting Muggles, Watchers, seers, a few Potential Slayers, and so on. She had thought their little group to be safe due to the protection the Hellmouth gave them. But if Voldemort learned of a power that could rise above the thick shields of Sunnydale, there would be no more safety net.

Giles, though not a Death Eater, seemed to share a small bit of Anya's concern. "Oh, dear lord…"

"I'm not sure what he'll want, but by all accounts he showed an interest."

"Of course he did. One of the reasons I tried to keep Willow away from your brand of magic is him."

Of course, Willow, with her consistent dabbling in the Dark Arts, would be a prime candidate for the Dark Lord's attention. But she wouldn't be the only one, or nearly the one he would focus on. He would want Dawn more. Little innocent fifteen-year-old Dawn, who carried in her veins an almost limitless store of power that she had not even yet dreamt of trying to tap into. Then, of course, there was Buffy. The Slayer would have to go, Anya knew. He wouldn't even offer her the chance to join him. She would just be gone, especially if he ever learned of Faith and the Darkness within her that would make it easy for him to mold her to his will. And herself. She would never have peace again if he knew her to be alive and human, not for her power, but for her betrayal.

"It used to be your magic too, Rupert."

"Let's try to remain on topic, Headmaster."

"I do believe that he may even send someone here to investigate."

No, that wasn't the Dark Lord she knew. All the potential threats against him, especially one as powerful as she knew he would view the power surge as, would be dealt with by him directly. Just as he had dealt with the Potters.

"He may even make the trip himself. I don't know when, most likely not for a good long time. But I think you should be aware and remain on guard."

When. That was the question. Not if. When. And no matter what Albus said, it wouldn't be in 'a good long time'. It would be soon. He was very swift, the Dark Lord. He would hesitate only days, such as he had with the Potters, only long enough to research the information presented to him thoroughly and formulate a plan. It had been five days since the resurrection. Depending on when the Dark Lord learned of the power surge, he could arrive in Sunnydale at any time. He could be there that very night.

"I'll be sure to have the girls refrain from attempting anything that might draw too much attention the next few weeks."

"I do have…ways of knowing his moves, Rupert, and as soon as I'm told anything regarding who he might send when or if he loses interest I'll be sure to let you know."

Of course. Anya had ways of knowing his movements as well. There would be warning, that she knew. He would have learned the lessons of the failed attack on the Potters well. He would not move alone. He would call the Death Eaters, and the call would…be…strong…

"Do you think he would send someone?"

"I have no doubt. Conceivably, they could already be here."

She could hear her heartbeat. She could actually hear it in her ears and feel it in her chest. She could feel her blood moving. It was going kind of slow, she noted. As if it weren't a nice hot smooth flowing liquid, but instead sludgy gunky mud.

Her skin tingled as she moved. Somehow, she ended up in the kitchen. Dawn was chattering on aimlessly about something with Spike as she fixed a really disgusting looking punch. Spike was pretending to listen to her, though his eyes were following Anya as she jerkily moved across the tiled floor. Tara was at the open back door watching the night peacefully as she sipped on a mug of steaming peach tea. Anya liked the scent.

Anya stopped beside the blonde witch, looking out at the night, far from peaceful. Tara looked over to her as she stood there and smiled softly. "It's dark out tonight," Tara noted in a soft voice, nodding upwards to the rolling clouds that shined faintly silver in one spot. "Clouds cover the moon and stars."

The terrible sense of foreboding was starting to turn into knowledge. A knowledge she had never again wanted, a knowledge that pounded through her before settling like a brick in her stomach.

She turned looking for something, anything, that would prove what she knew to be true wrong. Her eyes settled on the fairly large knife lying idly on the kitchen counter. Moving faster than she could remember moving since being human, she descended upon the knife, snapping it quickly into her hand before turning and bolting into the kitchen.

The startled cries that came from behind her let her know that this had not gone unnoticed by Spike, Tara, or Dawn and that they seemed opposed to her running around with a large knife in some way.

In the living room, she had interrupted what looked to be a very sappy, emotional, tearful reunion between James, Lily, Sirius, and that Remus guy. They all looked up as she ran into the room in surprise.

"Anya?" James started, but Anya didn't even take the time to acknowledge their presence. Instead she crossed the room in a few boundingly frantic steps and turned to the fireplace. She waved her free hand, causing flames to suddenly leap up amongst the few logs.

Behind her, Sirius whistled lowly, obviously impressed with the simple wordless, wandless magic. "What are you doing?"

Then she raised the knife up. The blade glinted dangerously in the firelight, announcing its presence. Lily must not have noticed it before, for she cried out fearfully, "Anya!"

In one simple slashing motion, Anya brought the blade down to slice through the flesh of her hand. She didn't even blink at the pain, though there were several shouts behind her. She waited only a second for the blood to well up, aware that someone would grab her at any moment, then whipped her hand towards the fire, throwing several drops of her blood into the flame. "Hail and praise to the name of Halfrek, whom I call to me in the name of all children unloved. Come before me."

She was aware of strong hands on her arms, trying to turn her around while keeping the hand with the knife pointed safely down to the ground. She didn't fight the hands as far as the knife was concerned, but she wouldn't turn from the fire.

She waited. Seconds slid by. One after the other, each one an infinity into itself. She waited. People were trying to move her, voices were talking to her, but her eyes were fixed on the fire. She waited. But no one came.

Her breath caught in her throat and she dropped the knife as her greatest fears were confirmed. Then she snapped back to reality.

The hands on her belonged to Giles. He was watching her carefully, looking for something. Everyone else, even Albus, was gathered around closely, all talking amongst themselves while staring at Anya.

Giles noticed she had come out of her thoughts first. He gave her a small shake to make her look at him, which she did. He was very calm as he talked to her. "What are you doing, Anya? Who are you summoning?"

"Hallie," she answered automatically, tone distant as her emotions swarmed around her. It was suddenly very hot and she noticed she was sweating a bit, but from what she wasn't sure.

Giles's grip on her arms eased as his brow furrowed in confusion. "Who?"

Anya stepped back, breaking Giles's hold as she looked around the room for some sign of her old friend. But she wasn't there. "She's not coming. She always comes. Always. Unless…"

"Anya, what is it?" Giles asked, impatience edging on his tone.

She snapped her gaze up to meet his as all of reality came back into focus. And with it, the terror. "Don't you understand?" she asked in a low broken tone of voice. "He's here. He's here!"

---

---

Rupert Giles watched Anya as she had what he could only assume to be a nervous breakdown.

"He?" Giles repeated, unsure of what the former demon was getting at.

"The Dark Lord," Anya said as if this were obvious. "Hallie won't go anywhere the Dark Lord is. He's here!"

Yes, well, so maybe the nervous breakdown was well warranted. The news of Voldemort possibly being in Sunnydale was enough to cause the hair on his arms stand on end.

Everyone else had suddenly gotten very quiet. Dawn and Tara looked confused. Black, Potter, Lupin, and Lily looked doubtful. Dumbledore seemed to be interested in hearing what Anya had to say, though he seemed to be reserving judgment. Spike, however, had straightened and was watching Anya quite seriously.

Giles conceded that there was too much to risk to assume Anya was just spouting nonsense, and knew that there would be no good come from a sudden panic. He tried to keep his voice calm and soothing. "Okay, Anya. When you say here--"

Although his tone seemed to have a bit of the grounding effect he had hoped it would, Anya was still far from calm, though she seemed to finally be rational. "Sunnydale at the least," she cut in, running a shaking hand through her hair. "She refuses to be within fifty miles of him."

The look in her eyes was what convinced him of her sincerity. She really believed, and had at least some evidence to back up the belief, that Voldemort was in Sunnydale at that very moment.

Tara seemed to have come to the same conclusion, though she was by no means as panicked as she would have been had she known the full extent of what that could mean. "What do we do?" she asked calmly.

Giles sighed, before turning to address the group at large. "Well, first thing, we do not panic and use our heads. All right. This doesn't necessarily mean what Anya believes it to mean. It could be many other things. Anything."

Anya didn't take to this reasoning. "But--"

Giles cut her off with a look before continuing in his soft, calm tone. "Now, even if he is here, again, it doesn't necessarily mean anything even though he knows about the magical signature detected when you performed the resurrection."

This seemed to shock some sense of seriousness into Black, Potter, Lupin, and Lily. Instead of disbelieving, their expressions instantly went from surprised to anxious. Giles added more for their benefit, "He doesn't know how, why, or who."

Dumbledore seemed to believe Anya, his expression quite serious. "What kind of wards are on this house?"

Giles deferred with a look to Tara. The young witch looked up, uncomfortable with the attention on her. "A g-general protection sp-spell. And a b-b-blessing. We worry about p-putting up anything stronger. It c-can attract instead of defend."

Dumbledore accepted this with a grim nod. He then looked over at Anya. "Anya, you're armed?"

Anya reached up her sleeve and produced a rather plain-looking holly wood wand. "Yes."

"Any of the rest of you?" he asked, glancing over at Giles. "Rupert?"

Giles shook his head as he clearly saw his father breaking his old beloved wand into pieces with a cricket bat in his memory. "No."

"James? Lily? Sirius?"

Potter shrugged and shook his head. "We haven't had time to get anything."

Dumbledore's expression became even grimmer before addressing Black, Potter, and Lily. "As much as I would have enjoyed waiting so that you could have your parting feast of pizza, I'm afraid we'll need to be going now."

They all three nodded their agreement. Dumbledore then turned back to Giles. "Rupert?"

Giles knew that the best thing to do with Voldemort in town would be to lie low. "We have friends in Los Angeles. We'll go there for a week or two."

"You shouldn't go back to the Magic Box, not for a while," Black said, his tone grave, holding Giles's gaze with a look of concern. "He may be watching it. If he's looking for magic, that's the first place he'll look."

"No, it's filled with Wiccan magic, which you people treat like a joke," Spike joined the conversation suddenly. "He'll go to Skye's. I'll go as soon as you're gone. I know how to avoid him."

Giles nodded his agreement, as did Dumbledore. The Headmaster then turned back to Giles. "Give me the location of your friends and I'll make a Portkey for you."

Giles sighed and looked up to…He frowned as he looked around the room. "Where's Buffy?"

Anya's calm disappeared. She looked over at Tara, eyes wide. "Xander!"

Then she ran past Giles and to the front door.

Lily's eyes went wide as Anya flung the door open. "Anya, stop!"

But the former demon didn't even take the time to close the door behind her. In a flash she was gone.

Giles hurried to the door to look out for her, but she was nowhere in sight. He turned to find Black, Potter, Tara, and Spike circling around him in the hall. Lily remained frozen in place in the living room, hands over her mouth, horrified. Dumbledore was standing in the door of the living room, watching the display with concerned eyes.

"Is she mad!" Black shouted, looking over Giles and out the door.

Giles, however, looked to Anya. "Where is she going?"

Tara was wide-eyed. "Willow, Buffy, and Xander, they went to go get the pizza."

Giles suddenly stood straighter as understanding and fear flooded his senses. "They're out there, unprepared and defenseless."

"Bloody hell!" Spike swore before turning and heading for the weapons trunk Buffy kept in the living room. He stopped suddenly, feet from the trunk, and whirled back around. "Where's Dawn?"

Giles looked to where the youngest Summers had been standing, but the girl was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, shit," Lily breathed. "Her coat…it's gone."

Giles followed her gaze, not taking time to be shocked at her choice of words. The railing of the stairs was bare.

Tara suddenly pushed her way past the others and stepped out of the house and down the porch stairs.

"Tara, no!" potter called after her.

She turned just before she stepped out into the street. "I'm sorry, but I can't."

Then she turned and hurried in the direction of downtown.

Giles miraculously withstood the urge to put his fist through the wall. He took a few large steps, then grabbed Spike and threw him towards the door. "Spike, go!"

Spike didn't have to be told twice as he hurried on out after Tara. Giles took a moment to cast the remaining few a look. "You should stay here."

Black was already elbow deep in the weapons trunk. "No!"

Giles whirled around, furious. He didn't have time for this. "Do you know what would happen if you were seen? Stay here! Albus, Lupin, make sure they're safe."

Then he ran out after his young charges, hoping against hope that Anya was mistaken.

---

A/N: I feel a bit evil, ending it here. Hmm. Well, Voldemort might be in Sunnydale. Interesting. Anya is having a nervous breakdown. And Buffy, Xander, and Willow are out there, with nothing but pizza to defend themselves with.

Next chapter out soon.


	22. Voldemort vs the Vampire Slayer

As Willow Rosenberg strolled through Restfield Cemetery with her two best friends in the entire world, she was emotionally conflicted. On the one hand, it was almost surreal to actually be doing what she was doing: patrolling and pizza with Buffy. For months now she had been so painfully aware that it was more than likely that she would never be able to go patrolling or have pizza with Buffy ever again. Then, thankfully, she had more than pulled off the spell and she had not only saved Buffy, but three important champions for the light side from England.

She was proud. No matter what Giles or James or Sirius or Lily had to say, she was more than proud of what she had done. There had been no wrong in it. She had restored life to four very deserving people. And it hadn't been dark. Maybe a little gray, calling Osiris and the snake and everything, but certainly not dark. She was a witch, a powerful witch. Maybe the most powerful in Sunnydale. She had been studying the craft for years, perfecting it in herself. She more than knew what she was doing.

"Okay, so, is it just me or do we suddenly have, like, half of our friends having some secret hidden past to do with magic?" Buffy asked as she juggled the three large pizzas stacked in her tiny arms.

"Specifically wand magic," Xander pointed out through a mouthful of Cheetos he had gotten from the bag of chips and two liters he had nestled against his side.

Buffy nodded. "Yeah. Does this strike anyone else as weird?"

Willow thought it was both weird and with the sense making all at once. Of course, she was a little pissy. No one had mentioned to her anything about this new brand of magic. Of course she had known there were many different "kinds" of magic. She studied some, practiced others, and ignored countless more. She just hadn't ever imagined anything quite so elaborate or refined. She had heard things in some circles before that fit a little too. Things about trade regulations on magical supplies. Branches of the government that dealt with magical creatures. She had always figured that meant something more like the Initiative, though.

But there were other things that made sense too. As old as Anya and Spike were, it would have been really strange if they had no connections to this type of magic. And knowing Anya had lived as a witch in a time before there was a lot of division, it made sense that she was familiar with knowing that kind of magic. And Spike, well, he was Spike. He always knew something about everything.

"I think it's weirder that they didn't really know that the others had a history," Xander replied as he carefully stepped over a tiny plastic marker indicating a fresh grave. "I mean, I think Anya and Spike knew that they were both aware of the magic world, but didn't know they had a history. Or something like that, anyways."

Willow frowned and shot her friend a hesitant look. "I wouldn't be too sure of that, Xander. They've both been acting pretty weird around one another."

Xander's pace slowed as he looked over at Willow. "What do you mean?"

Willow had almost been loath to say anything. But she wasn't stupid. She could see there was something going on with Anya that made her even weirder than she usually was. And Spike was in on whatever she was being weird about. And that had gotten her into a deep thinking session in the shower that very morning about Spike and Anya and the way the had always interacted. "Well…when they met, they didn't exactly act like strangers. They were kinda wary of each other. Then there was the whole indifference, but littered with moments of…well…camaraderie."

Xander blinked, then frowned. "What? No. There was never any comrade-ness. No Russia."

Buffy seemed confused by this too. "So wait, you think Anya and Spike knew each other before?"

Xander shot Willow a look, but Willow had already come to her conclusions. "Knew of, she replied to Buffy, smiling weakly at Xander, who looked a little troubled by this. "I'm almost sure they knew of. I used to write it off on the whole him master vampire, her vengeance demon. But now I don't know."

"She would have told me about something like knowing Spike," Xander defended her.

Willow shrugged. "Why? Especially if it had to do with this secret world we didn't know about and she was terrified of."

Buffy blinked and looked over at Willow. "Terrified?"

Willow raised her eyebrows. "Come on, you saw the way she was shaking back when we were talking about that war. It must have been really bad if she's so scared."

"I don't know," Buffy said with a shrug as she passively scanned the cemetery around them. "I still think it's weird. Anya's this witch with a wand still and never says anything?"

"I'm sure she had a good reason," Xander said defensively.

"Spike is easier to understand," Buffy continued as if Xander hadn't said anything. "Especially with him being Spike. If he doesn't have any real powers anymore and he put all of his past behind him, that's own business I guess. No reason to really ever mention it to us."

"But Giles?" Willow continued, feeling a tiny sting of betrayal once again. "It's one thing for him to leave these things behind. Another thing when he's making decisions for other people. He should have told me."

Xander looked over at Willow pointedly. "You never told me."

Willow faltered at this. She knew Xander thought of himself as a nobody, someone with no potential. Truth was he had the potential to be just about anything. He just never really applied himself. He would do anything for his friends, that she knew well, but he would barely do anything for himself. "I…I'm sorry I didn't, you know, offer to help you learn or anything. I just--"

"It's okay, Wills," Xander cut her off gently with a warm smile. "I get it."

"You're not mad at me?" the redhead asked in a small hopeful voice.

He shook his head. "No, I'm not. Doesn't make much difference if I'm magic or not. Still too lazy to do anything about it."

"What about this world?" Buffy asked, slowing her pace slightly as she looked over at Xander. "Don't you want to at least check it out?"

A strange look came over Xander, one that looked a lot like he was constipated. Willow could relate. Not in the constipation way, but in the many-mixed-emotions-that-made-you-feel-all-full-with-nothing-to-do way. Xander turned to Willow and shrugged. "Wills?"

Willow shrugged uncomfortably as she thought about it. "It's just…I don't know if I'd fit in. It sounds a little…too out there. Not that I don't believe them, but c'mon. A secret society of people waving wands? Flying on broomsticks? Sending mail with owls?"

Xander motioned melodramatically, before bellowing out in a deep voice, "Wearing big long robes with dragons and good versus evil."

Buffy actually laughed, something Willow hadn't heard her do since she'd come back. "It does sound like something straight out of a kid's story."

"A little too fluffy for me," Xander said with a small smile, returning to his normal voice. "Besides, I prefer TV. Jim had never even seen one."

Willow giggled as she thought back to James's amazement at the cartoons Dawn and Xander had shown him. Sirius had been too wary of the TV to even give it a try. "I kno—oof!"

Xander suddenly stumbled then went down and in the process pulled Buffy and Willow with him. Willow hit the ground hard, the pizza flying from her hands to smack against some gravestone. It fell open and the beautiful cheesy circle plopped greasily to the ground.

"Ow…" Xander moaned exaggeratedly from where he was sprawled across Willow's legs, bags of food held carefully against his chest. Willow rolled her eyes and pushed him off, looking down at her now sore legs for any tell-tale grass stains.

Buffy looked up from where she was laying at the pizza Willow had been carrying. The two she'd had had survived the fall, but from the looks of it, just barely. She frowned at their one casualty. "Shit. It's ruined!"

Willow flushed, knowing how important the pineapple pizza was to the Slayer. "What if we gave that one to Spike?" she suggested, looking over at her friends.

Xander wasn't looking at either Buffy or Willow. Instead he was staring up, face a little paler than usual. "Uh…guys…"

Willow followed his gaze to see that they weren't alone. Not by a long-shot. About two feet from where the trio was heaped was a rather large group of people. They towered over them in a sort of half-circle. In the dark, Willow couldn't see any of their faces, mostly because it seemed they were hooded. But the creature in front could see them. For when its eyes caught the light, they seemed to be glowing red in the night. "You see, my friends?" the creature asked in a voice that sounded like a man's but which was also twisted and cruel, raspy and dark.

Buffy pushed herself to her feet beside Willow and Xander was also getting up, food lying abandoned at their feet. But Willow could only sit and gawk as all of her senses suddenly started to scream at her as she felt a huge wave a dark energy begin to roll and build within the group in front of them, especially from the thing with red eyes.

It pulled its hood down to reveal that instead of a demon, it was a man. Or at least had the general shape of one. He was completely bald and his coloring was beyond albino white. And his eyes were kind of cat-like and definitely deep red. As in blood red. But the weirdest trait was definitely the nose, or lack thereof. Instead, the man had long thin nostrils flat on his face where the nose should have been which sort of had a reptilian look to them.

The man was looking down at Willow in a sort of detached curiosity, like a child looked down at an ant before it squashed it with a shoe. "Foul, useless Muggles and Muggle-borns," he continued in a voice that flowed slickly, "sneering at our way of life, thinking themselves above us, when they are, in fact, creatures far below us."

Buffy stepped in front of Willow as Xander hooked his arms under hers and pulled her up to her feet. Willow clung to Xander in support and a bit of fear as she watched Buffy regard the group of what had to be at least a dozen people shrouded in black behind the albino snake guy. The Slayer seemed calm and cool, completely on guard as she eyed the man carefully. "What the…who the hell are you?" Buffy asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked him up and down.

The man gave Buffy a sickening smile as he bowed to her mockingly. "Forgive me, Muggle, for my impolite manners. I am Lord Voldemort."

Buffy didn't register any sign of recognition upon the introduction. Xander, however, almost dropped Willow, so the redhead figured he remembered well the discussion they had only just completed a half hour or so ago.

After a moment, Buffy frowned and turned to give the pair behind her a look. "Why does that sound familiar?"

Xander gave his well-documented nervous "oh-god-we're-gonna-die" laugh as he looked from the group watching them to Buffy. "Uh, Buff, this is that guy Giles was getting all Ripper-y about."

A murmur went through the group and one person in particular stepped forward and ripped off what Willow could now see was a mask so that she could look Xander in the eye. She was a she and she was one of the scariest looking shes Willow had seen in a good long time. She was an older woman and had obviously once been very pretty. But something had happened to her, something that had sucked all of that beauty from her. In some ways, well, in a lot of ways, she reminded Willow of Sirius…and someone else that Willow couldn't quite place.

"Giles?" the woman asked, a spark of excitement in her heavily-lidded eyes. "Ripper Giles?"

Xander paled visibly before muttering, "Oops."

The woman looked closer at Xander, as if seeing something she recognized in him. "And you are?"

"Just leaving," Xander attempted as he stepped away from the woman, pulling Willow along with him. "You know, darn, we would love to stay and chat, but we have these pizzas to deliver and you know the motto. Delivery within thirty minutes or dinner's on us."

Willow knew better than to think there would be any sort of easy escape. She didn't even know if they needed an escape. She pulled away from Xander and stood still and straight in her place, watching as Buffy took another step towards Voldemort. The Slayer shook her golden hair back out of her face and looked up at the wizard who had at least a good foot on her if not more. The cool and calculating expression on Buffy's face as she regarded the wizard was all Slayer.

"So," she began in a low voice, sounding every bit like the champion she was. "You're the guy that's killed three hundred people in one summer."

Whatever Voldemort had been expecting, it wasn't Buffy's confident defiance. He narrowed his red eyes and regarded Buffy more seriously.

Buffy raised her eyebrows and gave a small smile. "Lemme tell ya, between us, that's pretty impressive. I think the biggest numbers I've ever seen were from the Mayor, and he doesn't even come close."

"Interesting for a Muggle," Voldemort murmured more to himself than anyone as he watched Buffy with some sort of morbid fascination. Then he cocked his head slightly as if seeing Buffy in a new light. "Or are you? Magic is not typically a topic of conversation amongst your kind, even if you are acquainted with a disgraced blood traitor."

Buffy crossed her arms in front of her and cocked her hip as she stood her ground. "Well, I'm a different kind than most."

"You should mind your tone," Voldemort warned, though he still seemed more amused than angry. "I've been gracious enough to introduce myself. Now…would you be so kind as to return the favor?"

Buffy seemed to consider this for a moment, then shrugged. "Buffy Summers," she said, mimicking his earlier mocking tone as she indicated herself with one graceful hand. "It is my personal pleasure to meet you."

There was another wave of whispers among the group behind him, though neither Voldemort nor the bitchy woman seemed to recognize the name. Another man stepped forward and removed his mask, revealing what was…well…a really sexy older man, though Willow would only admit it under extreme duress. He really was ridiculously good-looking and the cold and dark look in his eyes honestly only added to that. He had sharp chiseled features, very pale blond hair, and the very air of an aristocrat. But the eyes were familiar. Ice cold, in one light grey, in another blue. "Master…she's the Slayer."

Recognition flooded Voldemort's expression and he raised a hairless brow as he regarded Buffy appreciatively. "The Vampire Slayer. Champion of the clueless Muggle filth."

Willow knew Buffy knew she was being toyed with, strictly used for these people's entertainment. She also knew that Buffy liked to sometimes go along with it, playing right back with whatever bad was mocking her. And as Voldemort produced a long twisted wand in elegantly long white fingers, she prayed Buffy would just get right to business.

Whether Buffy even realized she may be outmatched in this particular situation, Willow didn't know. But the Slayer didn't miss the wand. Her eyes locked on it and she smirked before looking back up to meet Voldemort eye-to-eye. "Nice twig. Let me guess. You can make it float really neat like in the air. All it takes is emotional control?"

Willow blinked as she watched Buffy face off with what Willow knew to be the most dark sorcerer she'd ever dreamt could exist. And she knew exactly what her friend was asking of her.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you," Voldemort said with a smile, causing a loud round of laughter to come from the people behind him.

Very carefully, so as not to tip the wizards and witch off, Willow slowly opened herself to the energy that flowed all around her.

Buffy laughed right along with them. "If I had a dime for every time some nasty told me that…well, wouldn't be here." Then the Slayer sobered a bit, though her smirk remained. "Though you're nastier looking than most."

It was difficult as Willow tried to keep the darkness the group generated away from her and cling to only the positive energy that usually flowed through her. She gathered all within her and all she could get around her, building it up bit by bit.

The woman that was still studying Xander whirled around, fury broiling at Buffy. "She dares!"

Willow gathered all within her and all she could get around her, building it up bit by bit.

"Bella," Voldemort warned and the woman, Bella, apparently, looked properly chastised and fell back into her place among the group.

Voldemort turned back to Buffy. He looked…well, he looked bored. Then he suddenly raised his wand. "_Crucio!_"

Willow reacted instantly, throwing her hand and her magic out in front of her. While originally she had intended to try and pull Voldemort's wand from him, she instead erected a bubble-like shield in front of the Slayer. The energy of whatever spell the wizard had intended for Buffy hit Willow's shield hard, forcing her back against Xander.

Xander placed both hands on Willow's shoulders and whispered, "Take whatever you need."

Willow gave a short nod and, drawing from her friend's own natural energy, she pushed back with both hands, sending the spell back towards the group before them. It hit one of the shorter guys head on.

The afflicted wizard doubled over with a scream, then hit the ground, jerking around on the ground as if the very fires of Hell were burning through him. His screams were inhuman, echoed in Willow's ears and she stared in horror until Voldemort raised his wand and the spell ended. The man's screams died out, but he remained on the ground, twitching sporadically.

Buffy turned wide eyes back to Willow and gave the redhead a small, extremely grateful nod. "Thanks, Will."

Willow nodded quickly as she kept her concentration on keeping the shield up.

Voldemort was now staring past Buffy, back to Xander and Willow for the first time since Buffy had really started talking to him. And he was smiling. "A wandless witch. And an untrained wizard."

"Crap…" Xander drawled behind her.

Buffy pulled the stake from her pocket, shifting into a fighting stance as she turned her attention back to the dark wizard, this time looking every bit the Slayer she truly was. "Not likely, Moldy Warts," she hissed at him. "My family is my everything. You'd have to come through me first."

Voldemort did not look amused. In fact, he looked every bit like the monster Willow knew he was. "Lucius," he bit out in a tone filled with venom. "Handle those two."

The hot blond man raised his nose and motioned to a pair of guys behind him. "My pleasure, my lord."

Then…the hot guy and the people he'd motioned to completely vanished. Is in they were totally gone. Willow's concentration was momentarily weakened as she shot the vacant grass where the men had stood a confused look.

Then she was grabbed from behind, strong cruel hands locking on her throat and arms. She gasped in surprise as she was torn from Xander's arms and she twisted to see that one of the guys that had disappeared had Xander by the throat.

"Buffy!" she screamed before her entire body seemed to suddenly seize up and go stiff as a board. She nearly panicked as she realized she couldn't move. Somehow, in some way, she had lost all control of her own body. Willow was helpless.

But even more horrible, Willow watched as, cut off from the source that was powering it, the magical shield she had put between them and Voldemort fell. Buffy wasted no time in leaping towards the dark wizard, arms flying. But Voldemort's wand arm was quicker.

Then Willow was flung to the ground. She couldn't see anything of what was happening, nothing but the stars burning overhead. But she could still hear Buffy's screams when they came.

---

---

Tara Maclay stood very still half-hidden behind a lamppost on the corner of Maple and Main in downtown Sunnydale, watching with a bit of a grimace as Giles and Spike argued with the manager of the Pizza Wizard. The young twenty-something man with greasy hair seemed to be getting a kick out of withholding information from an older authoritative British man and, well, whatever Spike came off as. And it looked like whatever he wasn't sharing was serious, for the argument was getting heated.

Outside in the street, things were much colder. Fear was a freezing emotion. Tara felt almost overwhelmed by her fear for Willow, Dawn, and the others. It was a fear only matched from that last clear memory of sitting beside Glory on that park bench, her hand being shattered beneath the hell-goddess's crushing grip.

Anya was just a few feet away, literally crouching in the shadows. Her eyes were darting everywhere and her grip on her wand was so tight that her knuckles had long-since turned white.

Suddenly, Spike seemed to break, and Tara watched as he shifted into demon-face and grabbed the manager. Giles didn't stop him. The manager cowered and was suddenly talking very fast. Satisfied, Giles and Spike left the store, walking across the street to huddle with Tara and Anya.

"Well?" Anya asked in a low, clipped tone.

"They were here, picked up the pies about fifteen minutes ago," Spike nearly growled through clenched teeth. He nodded towards the east end of the street. "Headed off that way."

Tara glanced in the direction the vampire indicated, knowing that the fate of her lover and their friends was well beyond any of them. There were no less than four larger graveyards in that direction, each one laying on a route that would take them back to the house. There was no telling which one the trio would have chosen, no telling where they might have gone. They would never find them.

"Dawn beat us here by two minutes," Giles continued, indicating the opposite direction. "She didn't ask any questions, just had a look around and headed off in that direction."

"When we find her, I'm gonna kill her," Spike hissed angrily.

Tara shot him a look. "She's just scared. Buffy hasn't even been back a week."

"She's not gonna help the Slayer by getting herself killed too," Spike mumbled.

Tara's nerves frayed a little thinner and she licked her lips as she hugged herself a bit more tightly. "You think they're dead?"

Giles shared a quick look with the blond vampire then sighed and looked to Tara. "If something were to happen, it's most likely already happened. If not, then they should be back at the house."

"We can't just do nothing," Anya protested, looking around the street for something.

Giles gave the two girls a supportive smile. "Willow is a strong witch. Buffy is the Slayer. We can only trust in that. But exposing ourselves like this only puts us in danger."

"We couldn't help anyways," Spike added with a snort. "Watcher's unarmed, demon-girl all rusted like, me and this bloody chip." Then his gaze ticked over to Tara. "You'd be the biggest gun we have. Feel up to that challenge?"

Tara shifted uncomfortably, hardly able to wrap her mind around what Spike was suggesting. "I…I d-don't…"

"We find Dawn," Spike cut in after Tara made his point for him. "We go to the house. Whether or not they're back decides whether we go to LA."

"Is there a spell, maybe?" Anya asked Tara, an edge of desperation to her tone. "That thing you did to find Willow?"

"If I had someplace to be calm and centered…" Tara started, not finishing the thought.

Giles nodded his understanding to her. "You'll do it when we get back to the house."

Spike sighed. They all stood in silence for a moment, just letting the October wind blow around them, knowing that whatever they did just wouldn't be good enough.

Tara felt a little awkward. As much as she felt her roiling emotions, she knew she was new to this game. She suddenly could appreciate the emotions Giles, Anya, and Spike had exhibited as they had discussed the issue of Voldemort just under an hour ago. As much as living on the Hellmouth was an uncertainty, at least it was typically something new everyday, most of the time something simple, something well within their reach. This was uncertainty like she had rarely known. Uncertainty that she'd only known with Glory, and Glory had really only attacked the group something like five or six times…and they'd once attacked her and all. But this uncertainty, living with it for over a decade, even longer…Tara had never known the hell of war.

She shook her head and murmured softly, "This is wrong."

Giles sighed and looked up at the dark night. He seemed so sad. As if mourning the peace he had taken for granted. "I never thought I'd be doing this again," he said. "Fearing this again."

A few seconds past before Anya sniffled and added, "I did."

Tara nodded, then looked up at Spike, determined not to lose another second. "How do we find Dawn?"

Spike began to shake his head, then looked up suddenly, eyes bright. "I've got her."

Anya frowned. "You can track her?"

"No," Spike murmured as he stared at a point behind them intently. "But I can see her."

They all turned to follow Spike's gaze. Dawn was there, standing with her back turned to them under a streetlight not twenty feet away. Spike used his unnatural speed and was there in a flash, arms wrapped tightly around her to keep her from taking off.

"Dawn!"

Dawn struggled against Spike's grip fiercely, shouting as the others caught up with them. "Let me go, Spike!"

Spike held firm, whirling her around to face him before giving her one good shake. "What do you think you're doing?" he growled at her menacingly.

She calmed down a bit, though she returned his angry glare with one of her own. "I won't lose her again!"

"Buffy can take care of herself," Tara argued gently, crossing her arms in front of her nervously. "We need to get inside."

The fight left the teen at these soft words and she turned large eyes to the witch. "But Willow and Xander…"

Giles gave Dawn a small smile as he gently pulled her out of Spike's grip. "They're probably already back at the house eating pizza."

"_Buffy!"_

Tara turned, mouth dropping open as the faint sound of her lover's terrified scream echoed through the night.

"Did you hear that?" Spike murmured as his sharp eyes searched through the darkness.

No one said anything. No one had to. They had all heard that. Spike's eyes narrowed as he focused on one point towards Restfield Cemetery, as if he saw or heard something the rest of them couldn't. Which, as a vampire, he was totally capable of doing.

"Spike?" Giles asked tersely, watching the vampire carefully.

Spike turned to Giles and regarded him grimly. "They're here."

Suddenly there was a strange cracking noise come from the sky above them. Tara looked up to watch as some sort of firework went off over Restfield Cemetery, creating an ugly green skull in the sky. Tara wrinkled her nose in revulsion, but quickly felt her emotions change to confusion as the skull didn't fade and fall as all fireworks did. It just hung there with a smoky green snake coming out from the mouth to coil about itself.

Anya gave a faint moan and swayed a bit on her feet as she stared at the thing in horror. She was quickly steadied by Spike, who put his hand on her shoulder, not taking his own eyes off the sky as he gazed at the skull grimly. But it was the look on Giles's face that scared her. It was a look of absolute dread. One that came from haunted memories and fear and emotionless acceptance of evil.

"What's that?" Dawn asked as she watched the skull hover in the air with some kind of morbid curiosity.

"It's the Dark Mark," Spike answered in a low voice. "The mark of Voldemort."

"They use it to mark where they've been," Anya whimpered. "Where they've killed."

Fear blossomed in Tara. Fear on top of fear. Panic. Tears stung at her eyes as she was forced to consider the unimaginable.

Dawn slipped out of Giles's grip and started running full speed towards Restfield Cemetery. Giles was after her in a second. Anya and Spike were saying something to her, but she couldn't hear them. Instead she pulled away from restraining hands and ran after the young girl and older man.

Every second was an eternity. The cemetery like a maze. It was hard to find that exact spot the Mark hovered over. But Dawn found it.

They were in a clearing, very close to Rutherford Mausoleum. Several boxes of pizza and a paper bag lay abandoned next to one lone grave. A few feet away, Xander and Willow lay, stiff and unmoving. Several feet away from them was Buffy. She _was_ moving, but not in any way Tara would have liked to seen. The Slayer was jerking wildly, making muffled sounds of pain. It looked horrible.

No one else was there. And Tara didn't care that Spike seemed to be frantically trying to call her back in whispered tones. She was right behind Giles and Dawn, using all of her energy to go as fast as her legs could carry her.

"Buffy!" Dawn screamed in a tone of voice Tara hated. It was the same tone Tara had heard from Willow when they saw Buffy hit the ground so many months ago.

As soon as Dawn spoke, Buffy stopped jerking. She was still twitching, but whatever spell she seemed to have been under had apparently been lifted. That was when Tara knew what Anya and Spike had been trying to tell her. That was when she realized why Giles was desperately trying to catch Dawn. It was a trap.

Tara slowed, then stopped several yards from where Willow and Xander lay. Spike was at her side instantly, murmuring hurried words of their dire circumstance. Anya was behind him wand held out and at the ready, waiting for a target to reveal itself.

"No!" Giles shouted as he finally caught up with Dawn several feet from where Buffy now lied, apparently unconscious. "Dawn, stop!"

Giles wrapped his arms around Dawn's waist and hauled her back against him a split second before several people in black robes and masks appeared out of thin air in front of them. He quickly stepped back, Dawn still clutched against him, as the people tried to grab for Dawn.

Tara heard a sound behind her and turned. She yelped in shock and fright as she hurriedly backed away from the black robed man that reached for her. But she didn't get far as she backed into the terrified Anya who had frozen.

Giles and Dawn were backed into Tara, Anya and Spike. Tara looked around frantically before realizing that they were surrounded in a tight circle, a dozen black robed people watching them through their endless masks. Spike, in a rare display of protection, at least where Anya and Tara were concerned, stepped in front of the two girls and met the eyes of the people closing in around them. Then Spike slipped into game face and growled lowly.

Tara knew who these people were without having to be told. They were that man's followers, the ones they called Death Eaters. And as they surrounded the five mostly unarmed and defenseless Scoobies, Tara knew they deserved their terrifying name.

One man, unmasked, stepped up to looked at them. He seemed pleased. "I can't believe you actually came. Like innocent lambs to the slaughter."

Tara understood this taunt without having to be told. That Dark Mark thing, they had sent it up. It hadn't been meant as some kind of calling card. It had been sent to draw them there.

A particularly foul looking woman gave an insane giggle and clapped her hands slowly as she stepped up to look Giles in the eye. "So, it is true," the woman said, looking positively delighted. "Ripper Giles. It's been a long time."

Giles's expression became deadly as he gazed at the woman icily. "Not long enough, Lestrange."

"Lestrange, now, is it?" the woman asked as she raised an eyebrow, her smile broadening. "There was a time when it was just Bella."

"Those days are long past dead," Giles hissed as his grip on Dawn tightened.

Dawn for her part had turned into Giles, now clutching his jacket just as tightly as he held her. She looked around, eyes wide with fright.

The woman's gaze ticked down to settle on the wide-eyed girl. She looked mildly surprised. "What is this, Ripper?" she asked, reaching out to grab a lock of Dawn's hair "A daughter?"

Then her smile twisted and she pulled hard on the lock in her hands. Dawn yelped and Giles backed up as much as he could, eyes shooting venom as the woman held up her prize.

"Nothing more than a filthy little half-blood, aren't you?" another one of the Death Eaters, a blond man, asked. "A bold one Giles, to create such an animal."

Spike was the one to answer to this. He growled at the man, baring his teeth in fury. "You're the animal, Lucius."

The woman was unusually still as she examined the strands of hair twisted around her fingers. She turned to speak to someone behind her. "Master, there's something different about Ripper's Mudblood," she said, then turned to give Dawn a suspicious look. "Something powerful."

"Leave her alone," Tara found herself saying, stepping around to block Dawn as much as she could. "She's just a child."

"And what are you, Mudblood?" came the hissing reply.

Several of the Death Eaters parted, creating a sort of gap so that Tara and the others could see another man. He towered over Buffy, who was still lying completely still on the ground, and was also dressed in black robes, but his were different. And the sense of darkness she felt from him flooded her senses. His red eyes lingered on her before Spike had once again pulled her behind him.

Spike placed himself between Tara and the man, and he stood in his place very stiff. Giles had seemed to freeze as he stared at the wizard with absolute hatred. And Tara didn't have to turn to know that Anya was shaking violently behind her.

The man just smiled at the look on Tara's face before his gaze shifted over to Giles. "So the witless boy wasn't lying after all. Ripper Giles. And look. William the Bloody. This is a most interesting reunion."

"Voldemort…"

The absolute horror in Anya's whisper caused Tara to turn and shoot her a glance. But in doing so, she opened the former demon to Voldemort's line of sight.

Red eyes locked on the girl behind Tara. Anya was white, nearly as white as the unholy man she was staring at unblinkingly.

The look on Voldemort's face suddenly changed. It looked like he was…surprised. Pleasantly surprised. And a little relieved. They were odd emotions to see on the disfigured face of the mad man. He lowered his wand a bit and raised a hairless brow. "Anyanka? Is that you, dear girl?"

Tara, Giles, and Dawn all turned wide eyes to Anya. Giles looked shocked and a little angry. Dawn looked more confused than anything. Tara, well, she guessed that the fact that Anya apparently knew Voldemort made a lot of sense in a strange way. It sure explained a lot of the girl's erratic behavior over the last few days. She also noticed that Spike looked more worried than surprised by this twist. Which caused Tara to put her other feelings behind her and also worry for Anya. It was always a sign that things were bad if they made Spike nervous.

Anya was shaking so hard as she stood facing Voldemort that it looked more like steady twitching than shaking. But somehow, the absolutely terrified former demon managed a small respectful nod. "M-M-My Lord."

"Anya…" Giles hissed in surprise as he held Dawn closer.

Anya glanced at the pair, looking defeated and humiliated.

Voldemort was too delighted by this sudden twist to notice. "Why did you not come back to me when you felt my return?"

Anya's mouth was open, but the only sound she could manage was a high, squeaky, "I…I…I…I…I…"

Now Voldemort was looking suspicious. "Yes?"

A large man with greasy, tangled gray hair and yellow eyes leaned in a rasped, "She's human, Master."

"Human?" Voldemort repeated as if he were amused by the word. Then he actually shrugged. "What a surprise. No matter, though. Your place will still be open to you, Anyanka."

Tara had never considered herself to be the quickest kid in the class, but she was starting to piece together quite a bit from this simple exchange. Voldemort and Anya had known each other. Voldemort and Anya seemed to have been on good terms. It seemed Anya might even have helped Voldemort out every once in a while. Anya somehow had known or should have known that Voldemort was back. Anya had decided not to be helpful anymore. Anya had…chosen to abandon those good terms.

Anya was in deep shit.

Suddenly something was different with Anya. She seemed to resolve herself to something. And the shaking quickly faded away. Her expression became determined and a fire lit in her eyes. And there in Restfield Cemetery, Anya squared her shoulders looked Voldemort in the eye and said quite clearly in a strong voice, "Things change."

Whispers erupted amongst the Death Eaters. There were a few gasps. Some hissing. The woman Death Eater's nose wrinkled and Tara was almost sure that she growled.

Voldemort seemed to become solid poison. His eyes narrowed, and the darkness he exuded was almost tangible. He narrowed his eyes and his face twisted in fury as he looked at Anya. "Things? _Things_! Yes, Anyanka, things change. But not us. Not people like us. We are the creatures of the dark, Anyanka. The few strong enough to take the power they so rightly deserve. You did not change."

Anya shook her head firmly. "I did change."

"Foolish girl," Voldemort roared. "I do not let those who are mine leave so easily."

"I never was yours to begin with," Anya argued with him like she would with Willow, crossing her arms in front of her and giving him her angriest look. But though the front she presented was firm, which Tara was more than surprised about considering, Tara knew Anya well enough to know a bluff when she saw it.

Apparently, so did Voldemort. "You were mine the day you gave me my wish. You humbled yourself to me when I was but a child, used your power to serve my will. You have always been mine."

"Like they are _yours_?" Spike joined in suddenly, stepping in front of Anya so that Voldemort would be forced to look at him.

This distraction seemed to work. Voldemort turned furious red eyes on Spike. "_William_," the wizard nearly spat, lip curled in disgust. "You _still_ refuse me. You should follow your family's example and join the ranks of my undead followers as the Master you are."

"Not bloody likely," Spike growled back, not even flinching in the dark wizard's broiling rage.

"Will not…or _cannot_?" the red-eyed monster asked, not even blinking as he glared at Spike. "Drusilla was most informative. Muggle technology taking away your undeniable right to feed. I can have it removed. Take the abomination out and release you upon the world. William the Bloody could feast once more upon the blood of man."

For one small moment, Spike looked tempted. For one terrible moment, Tara really thought he'd give in. She knew Spike. He was still a demon as much as she wanted to believe he was truly their friend. She wouldn't have been surprised in the least bit if he betrayed them to remove the chip. It was all he wanted and he had done it before.

Then Dawn whimpered in Giles's arms.

Spike turned and glanced at Dawn, then looked back up at Voldemort. His game face disappeared and he smirked. "Piss off, Tom."

"Foolish demon," the blond man hissed, looking at Spike in disgust.

"Smart man," Giles countered, shocking Tara at the compliment. Giles was holding Voldemort's gaze remarkably well. Tara knew that she herself would have coward. She actually had just minutes before.

"Rupert," Voldemort drawled as he regarded Giles in amusement. "Such a good family…so much power…wasted in worship of a pathetic demon…"

Giles didn't even flinch. "I have made my choices, Riddle, and they include seeing you and everything you stand for burn in Hell."

Voldemort pointed at Giles with a wand Tara had previously not seen. "Not before you tell me what I want to know. What caused the power surge?"

Whatever Giles was, he was a pretty good actor. He held onto his defiant look then let it slide as he cast his eyes down in thought. Then he looked back up, an expression of pure confusion schooled perfectly on his face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Voldemort's own expression was perfectly neutral. "I see," he replied, motioning to one of the larger Death Eaters in a circle before turning to look down at Buffy as he spoke. "Two wizards and a witch…the Vampire Slayer…what appears to be multiple untraineds…all together on the Hellmouth…and you don't know what the cause of the most powerful magical surge in history could be?"

The large man reappeared, this time with the stiff body of Tara's lover held in his arms. He wrapped a hand tightly around her neck and pulled up a bit. From as far back as she was, Tara could almost hear the bones cracking as they strained to stretch.

"Willow!" she cried, moving to run to her girlfriend. Spike stopped her before she could even take a step.

"I'll ask one more time, then I'll have Goyle rip her head off," Voldemort said, near emotionless as he turned his cold red eyes to Tara. "What caused the surge?"

"A spell," Tara replied before she could stop herself.

"Tara!" Giles hissed, dropping pretense and shooting her a warning look.

Voldemort, however, took this in without even so much as a blink. "Oh, really? What spell?"

Tara gave a desperate look to Willow, but kept her mouth shut.

But Voldemort didn't motion to the man holding Willow. Instead he turned his wand on the unconscious Slayer at his feet. "_Crucio!_"

Though unconscious, Buffy's body still twitched unnaturally and her face screwed up in pain.

"No!" Dawn screamed, straining against Giles's arms towards her sister. "No! Leave her alone!"

Voldemort's eyes stayed on Giles. "It will be interesting to see how long the Slayer can go before her mind breaks."

"It was a resurrection!" This time, the information came from Giles himself.

Voldemort kept his wand on Buffy for a few seconds more before turning it away. The jerking stopped slowly, but the look of pain did not fade.

"I see," Voldemort said as he considered this information seriously. "A dark wizard, no doubt. Did you kill him?"

"No," Giles replied honestly, not even hesitating.

"Which spell?" Voldemort pressed. This time Giles was silent. Tara wasn't sure if this was because he didn't know or didn't want to say.

Voldemort huffed impatiently before turning to Lucius. "Kill the boy."

"No!" Anya cried, pushing against Spike as he grabbed her. "Xander! No!"

"I tire of these games, Anyanka," Voldemort hissed at her, stepping forward to tower over her. "You want to save the boy. I want information. Give me what I want and I just may let your new pet live. You above all know what will happen if you refuse me again."

"It was the Plea to Osiris," she said without hesitation.

"That takes three anchors and a filter," one of the Death Eaters muttered.

"Four dark magic-users," Voldemort drawled looking fairly intrigued. "Interesting. Who was the target? Who were the sorcerers?"

Anya opened her mouth to answer, but this was the one where the answer would not help. For they had done it. They had raised Buffy. They were the ones he was looking for and now this man would kill them either way.

Tara looked over to her girlfriend, mind searching for some kind of answer. Then her eyes locked with Willow's.

_The wands Tara_, Willow's voice said inside Tara's head. _They're powerless without their wands_!

And suddenly it was all so clear. Tara closed her eyes, reaching out with all of her senses.

"Answer me!" Voldemort roared. "Who was involved with the spell!"

Willow must have given Anya some sort of signal, too. For suddenly the former demon was smiling haughtily at the dark wizard. Then she said in a strong tone, "It was us."

"_Up!_" Tara screamed, focusing all her will into the impromptu spell.

Thirteen pieces of wood suddenly rose into the air, raining back down onto Earth several feet away in a tangled mess. Voldemort and the Death Eaters all cried out in surprise. But the damage was done.

Now, no one was armed. No one but Anya.

They all stared at each other for a moment. Then Buffy, who apparently had never been unconscious, surprised everyone even more. The Slayer jumped up and tackled Voldemort.

Then chaos erupted.

---

A/N: So, yeah, I know. Two cliffies in a row. In my defense, I'm not being too evil about it and am updating fairly regularly.

I hope everyone thinks I did this situation justice. I think it's a logical playout of what might happen when taken off-guard and mostly unarmed like that. Next chapter is even more one on one fun.

Oh, and I've been getting reviews asking if Spike was William Malfoy. For those that didn't pick it up, yeah, Spike definitely knows Lucius and is related to the Malfoy family. However, Spike was never William Malfoy. He was part of another important family. So yes, related to and knows Lucius, no, not a Malfoy. It's much more complicated than that.


	23. Finite Incantatum

A/N: Okay, um, Spike. While this isn't relevant to the story right now, I thought I'd go ahead and get it out there. I know Spike's real name is William Pratt. I just choose to ignore it. Though I do acknowledge Spike's new canon birth date of 1853 (I had usually written Spike as late 1852, so I was very excited to see I'd been so close).

Also, sorry this is late. In my defense it is about twenty-one pages typed, and anything action is always a huge undertaking for me. I'm not very good at action sequences, to please keep this in mind as you read.

Um, so, yeah. That's all I have to say.

---

It is always an odd moment when one's life takes a sudden, irreversible turn. Whether it be for the better or for the worst, for some a moment of disconnect and utter surrealism can set in. A moment just like this settled over young Dawn Summers the night Voldemort and his Death Eaters attacked her and her family in Restfield Cemetery. Just a moment.

The moment came after Tara had stripped the wizards of their wands. After Buffy had somersaulted gracefully to her feet and ran headfirst into the terrific snake like wizard. After Giles had tossed her to the ground as he followed Buffy's example and attacked two of the robed guys and the woman who had been mocking him.

Dawn hit the ground hard, knocking a bit of her wind out of her. Then the moment descended around her and she just sort of watched everyone leap into action from where she sat dazed on the ground. It was more than chaos. It was almost funny, really. There was a lot of yelling and shouting around her. The Death Eaters were actually very panicky at the thought of being separated from their precious magic sticks.

In front of Dawn, Giles was in what resembled a bar fight. Literally. It was personal. And apparently he had no qualms smacking the bitchy woman around. Even though he was outnumbered three to one, Giles's energy was carrying him through. Elbows, fists, knees, and feet were flying. It was truly weird to behold.

It took Anya shouting her name to break out of that moment. She was a few feet away to Dawn's left. She looked up and caught the former demon's gaze. The look on Anya's face told her to move. As in immediately. Then the direness of their situation settled back over her. She scrambled to get up and run to the older girl but before she was even fully on her hands and knees, Tara was screaming and Anya had turned to help her. The pair turned away from Dawn and focused on the five Death Eating guys that were rushing them. Dawn moved to get up and help them, but was brought back down to the ground when a strong, unrelenting hand wrapped around her ankle.

Dawn slid a bit on the grass, instantly pulling and kicking to free her ankle to no avail. She rolled onto her back, digging her hands into the ground as she looked up at her captor. It was a Death Eater, one of the ones Giles had been fighting. He had lost his mask, revealing him to be a cruel looking older man with long dark hair and hate filled eyes. He was lying on the ground holding tight to her ankle as he tried to grab her other foot. Dawn narrowed her eyes and kicked him in the face with her free foot before his fingers could close around it. She caught him right in the bridge of the nose/eye area. He cursed loudly, releasing her other foot as he raised his hands to his now bleeding nose.

She was up like a shot, on her feet looking wildly around trying to figure out what was going on, if she should run, where she should go, who she could help. Tara and Anya were pretty much out of the equation. They were off to Willow and Xander, taking several Death Eaters with them. Spike was gone too, fighting a bunch a guys pretty unsuccessfully because of the chip and everything. Giles seemed to be okay, but there was no way she could help him. And her sister…

Buffy was dancing with Voldemort. At least that what it looked like. Every move the pair made was fluid, graceful. Buffy was more focused than Dawn had seen her since the resurrection. Every move looked perfect. But something was obviously wrong. For Buffy was landing no hits. Not one. Either she was being predictable or the snake was just that fast and slippery. And every so often, Buffy's side of the dance would falter a bit, as if she had been hit by something invisible. And whatever that invisible thing was, it was leaving signs of damage. Red skin showed where the blows landed. Tiny cuts crisscrossed as they appeared out of nowhere on the Slayer's skin.

Dawn looked around wildly for something that would help her sister. In the end, she found a large pocket watch laying on the ground that she figured one of the Death Eaters had dropped. A quick look confirmed this as it had about seven spinning hands, no numbers, and weird runes carved around it. It was very pretty. Dawn did the only thing she could think of. She clasped it tightly in her hand, took careful aim, then threw it at Voldemort.

It hit him. Square on the head. And even better, he stumbled long enough for Buffy to land not one, not two, but a dozen good hits. The rhythm of their dance evened up a bit, with Buffy landing the odd hit every once in a while now that she had broken that first one.

Dawn smiled, feeling good about herself. Then someone tackled her.

"That was my favorite watch, girl!" the man she had been grappling with shouted as he wrestled her to the ground.

Dawn yelped as he pinned her arms and legs with a hand to spare. She tried to buck him off, but it was no use. She was just a fifteen-year-old girl and he was a full-grown man. There were just some things that no amount of female empowerment could change, barring Slayerhood.

The Death Eater twisted his free hand around in her long thick hair, using it to control her as he tried to pull her up. She cried out, trying desperately to wriggle free from his grasp, but it really hurt. What was it with these people and her hair?

His labored grunts suddenly became choking right before he completely released her. She was quick to twist free, just in time to see her attacker twist free of a battered Giles's feeble grip. Dawn cast a look over her shoulder to see that the other man Giles had been fighting was down and that the woman was quickly scrambling over to them from the ground. Dawn backed up to Giles's side as he squared off with the Death Eater who seemed determined to subdue her.

"You'll do well to keep your hands off this girl, Dolohov," Giles warned in a dangerously low voice, panting slightly for breath.

Dawn watched the Death Eater, Dolohov, glance from Giles, to her, then back to Giles. "What is she, Ripper?" he asked. "What have you done to her? She's not your daughter. Is she anyone's daughter? Is she even human?"

Dawn blinked. She didn't know how it was possible, but these people knew. They knew something was different about her. And by the way that Dolohov was looking at her, she knew enough to be more than afraid.

"Go for the house," Giles told her over his shoulder, never taking his eyes from the Death Eater watching them carefully.

"I wanna help," she protested weakly, not really sure that she even wanted to stay to help her friends and sister anymore.

"Go to the house and find your grandfather," Giles repeated tersely.

Dawn frowned. Both of her grandfathers were very dead.

"Do as you're told!" Giles suddenly shouted, clearing her head of confusion and instead filing it with urgency.

Dawn turned, ready to cut through the woods and go find safety in the presence of Lily, James, and Sir…oh, Giles wanted the Dumbledore guy. She could do that. She started to run towards the safety of the treeline, but was suddenly stopped by a horrified shout from Giles. She turned to see what had made her father-figure bellow so, and was shocked when what looked like a great big green laser bolt missed hitting her by inches.

She frowned. "What the--"

"Get down!" Giles shouted as he appeared at her side, pulling her towards the cover of a nearby mausoleum. Dolohov and the third guy weren't far behind them. And the woman…she was a few feet behind them, pointing something straight at Dawn. Then Dawn recognized the wand in the woman's right hand.

"_Stupefy!_"

Dawn turned and screamed as a red laser bolt zipped past her. She almost breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived as she turned to see that she had not been the target. Instead, the bolt of light hit Giles square in the chest.

Dawn could only watch in horror as her protector, mentor, and friend was knocked back several feet, crashing into the side of the mausoleum hard before sinking to the ground. And Dawn's own heart sank along with him when he did not get back up. In fact, Giles lay there eyes closed, not moving even a little bit.

Dawn turned to the three Death Eaters, all of whom had now turned to her. The woman was smiling at her, the look in her eyes sending a bolt of fear to Dawn's heart. "Now, little girl, let us talk, just you and we three."

---

---

Anya Jenkins didn't even hesitate a nanosecond after Buffy tackled Voldemort. She just grabbed Tara by the Arm and shoved her through a hole in the confused Death Eaters little circle of oppression. Then she turned back for anyone else who might be reachable.

Buffy and Voldemort were actually in a physical fight. They were fairly evenly matched. Buffy, of course, was stronger, but the Dark Lord was still powerful without his wand. He used magic to deflect almost all of her blows and retaliate, the invisible blows landing hard on the weakened Slayer's body. But Buffy didn't falter.

Further to the right of them, Spike was doing his best to keep a few Death Eaters busy. Lucius Malfoy and Rodolphus Lestrange were there, of course, as was Fenrir Greyback. Anya figured that at least Greyback would be an okay match for Spike, since the man's werewolf status would at least allow the vampire to fight him migraine free. Even though Anya knew that Spike could theoretically fight humans if he really needed to, he was sluggish and slow, eyes bloodshot from the pain of trying to fight the men with the chip. It wouldn't go Spike's way, not by a long-shot. And it wouldn't last long.

Giles was in something that resembled a simple barfight with three other Death Eaters. All three had been unmasked, either before or during the fight. Anya easily recognized Bellatrix Black, who seemed to be an old acquaintance of the Watcher's. The man called Goyle was also heavily into it with Giles, which was not good given his sheer width. And Antonin Dolohov, crazy old lunatic that Anya had always considered him to be, he was pretty good in a fight. That was another one that was probably not going to go in the Scoobies' favor.

Dawn was half-laying, half-sitting on the ground between the fight of Buffy and Voldemort and the one between Giles and the Death Eaters, looking around frantically, completely lost in the shuffle.

"Dawn!" Anya shouted, breaking the girl out of whatever trance she was in. Dawn looked up and moved to join Anya, but a frightened yelp from Tara brought Anya herself back to where she was.

She turned to see five other Death Eaters bearing down on her and Tara. Tara raised a hand and instantly sent Thomas Nott and Wilhelm Jugson flying. Anya herself tightened her grip on her wand and brought it down on Rabastan Lestrange before they recovered from the shock of Tara's wandless magic.

"_Impedimenta!_"

If Tara was surprised at the sudden slowness of Lestrange, she didn't show it. Instead she refocused and brought up her hand again, sending the man Anya recognized from various _Prophet_ articles as the supposedly dead Peter Pettigrew into orbit. Anya didn't hesitate either and turned to Walden Macnair.

"_Impedimenta!_" she screamed, hitting the wizard squarely in the chest.

Anya looked behind her, thoughts still lingering on Dawn, but was grabbed by Tara before she could find the young girl. She let Tara pull her along and turned when they slowed to find that Tara had brought her straight to where both Xander and Willow lay on the ground, under the Full-Body Bind.

"Anya!" Tara shouted as she knelt down next to Willow.

Anya gripped the wand she had promised herself she would never need use when she bought it and brought it down on the redheaded witch. "_Finite!_"

Willow gasped as the spell dissipated, allowing Tara to pull her into her arms.

Anya turned away from the reunion and swirled her wand around and down on her own lover. "_Finite!_"

Xander shot up to a sitting position, rolling his shoulders and working the different muscles in his face and hands. "Wow, that was weird."

"It was the Body Bind," Anya explained as she knelt next to her fiancé and threw her arms around him. "I was so scared. I thought he might be here but then the Dark Mark and it was--"

"Calm down, Anya," Xander murmured soothingly in her ear as he gently extricated himself from her grip. "We're together now."

"And totally don't have time for the hugs and puppies routine," Willow said as she let Tara pull her up to her feet.

Anya nodded and straightened, holding her hand out to Xander to help him get up.

"Okay, so let's go kick some wizard ass," Xander said as brushed himself off.

Anya suddenly heard Tara shout and was pushed to the ground by Xander just as a spell soared past. It hit the gravestone behind where she had been standing, reducing the granite marker to dust. Willow screamed and Tara helped her scramble away as several more Reductor Curses flew around them. Anya, herself dove for cover, separated from Xander as another curse forced him to seek shelter in the opposite direction. Apparently, the Death Eaters had summoned their wands back to them.

After a moment filled with the panicked shouting of her friends, Anya chanced a look around the headstone. Lestrange and Macnair were advancing quickly, armed and ready. Anya wasn't surprised, knowing that her out-of-practice curses wouldn't take long to wear off. Nott wasn't far behind them. But what was happening behind them concerned Anya more.

Bellatrix Black suddenly hit Giles with a particularly nasty-looking stunner, leaving a wide-eyed Dawn alone and surrounded by three of the more brutal Death Eaters in the Dark Lord's service. Further away, Lucius Malfoy had Spike floating in the air upside down, subjecting him to what looked like every curse in the books. And even more frightening, the Dark Lord's wand was at that moment flying gracefully back into his outstretched hand even as Buffy battled wearily on.

"Anyanka!"

Anya didn't have the time to worry about it or try to help her friends. Rabastan Lestrange looked murderous. And he was running right for her.

Anya did the only thing she could do. She ran.

---

---

Dawn was on her feet, trying desperately to pull herself free from the grip the big Death Eater had on her. But he held her firm with her arms trapped behind her back as the other two Death Eaters examined her like some kind of prize they had won.

"Let me go!" she shouted, hoping one of her family would notice her predicament.

Dolohov smiled widely as he took a wand the woman offered him, looking down at her in amusement. "Come now, girl," he said light-heartedly, "if you were to surrender yourself to us and join the Dark Lord's service, perhaps then he would have mercy on your little family."

Dawn craned her neck trying to look behind her. "Giles!" she called in a desperate voice. "Giles, get up!"

"He can't hear you, little girl," the woman said in a sing-song tone.

Dawn looked up at the woman, loathing settling in the pit of her stomach. "What did you do to him?" she growled lowly as she pulled harder against the large man's hands.

The woman raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms daintily in front of her. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Ugly bitch!" Dawn cursed as she slowed her efforts so she could give the witch a proper glare.

The insane witch smiled widely and laughed at Dawn as she held the young girl's gaze. Then, without warning, she backhanded the girl hard across the face.

Dawn's head snapped back from the surprising force of the blow from what appeared to be a fairly weak woman. But apparently there was more to this witch than what met the eye. The pain flared through her jaw, aching in her teeth, bringing hot tears to her eyes. The taste of blood filled her mouth and Dawn noted with some measure of surprise that her lower lip had split against her teeth in more than one place. But far from being subdued, this blow made Dawn more angry than anything. She looked up and glared at the witch.

The woman smiled broadly at this. "Kitten gets feisty when she gets angry. Feel that crackle of power."

Dolohov nodded seriously. "This one will be worth it."

Dawn was starting to get really scared. This wasn't about her just dieing anymore. They were happy to have her in their grasp for some reason, happy it seemed to take her with them. She was willing to lay odds that it was her Key-ness they were confused and excited about. It sounded scarier to her than being dead. "I-I'm warning you--"

"Warning us?" the witch cut in with a cackle. Then she reached out to run a sharp fingernail along Dawn's jaw line.

Dawn bucked in the grip of the giant wizard. "No! Let go!"

"Fenrir!" Dolohov suddenly called to someone behind Dawn. "Come, see the snack we've caught for your next full moon."

Dawn's eyes went wide. There was no mistaking the meaning in that. "No!"

It was the gray-haired, wild eyed man. He looked at her like…like…oh, it made Dawn sick to think of it. He smiled wolfishly, "Sweet young flesh…"

"Better to take this one as a wolf, Greyback," Dolohov was explaining. "She has power. Could make herself useful if she wants to live."

"Buffy!" Dawn cried out desperately, hoping against hope her sister would save her.

"Buffff-fyyyy," the witch mocked in a high tone.

Dolohov suddenly pushed the other two away and grabbed Dawn from the big wizard. Holding her shoulders painfully tight he brought her closer to hiss at her, "The Slayer is no match for our master." Then he whirled her around to see what was happening a few feet behind her. "Come. Watch your sister die, child!"

And Buffy was. In the midst of dieing. Again. For Voldemort had cornered her. Backed up and crouching against a headstone, sweaty, bleeding, filthy, Buffy panted for breath, her eyes on the wand Voldemort had directly in her face. Dawn was forced to watch as the wizard pressed the tip of his wand hard against Buffy's forehead. And Dawn's soul screamed as she saw the look in her sister's eyes…the acceptance of her defeat.

"This is what becomes of those who defy the Dark Lord," the woman whispered in Dawn's ear, her tone filled with excited anticipation. Dawn could only slump in Dolohov's grip.

Suddenly, a silver beam of light streaked in front of Voldemort, taking his attention off of Buffy. The Slayer didn't hesitate taking advantage of this distraction. She slid quickly out from under the wand tip then looked over where Voldemort and the Death Eaters were looking. Dawn looked too.

It was the Dumbledore man. And he wasn't all sparkly and happy anymore. In fact, Dawn noted, he looked a lot like Buffy when she got serious about destroying the evil. And for some reason, it made Dawn feel like the cavalry had arrived instead of just one old man.

Dumbledore stood calmly a few feet away, regarding Voldemort with a sort of grave intensity. "Hello, Tom," he greeted in a low, serious tone.

"Dumbledore," Voldemort hissed, turning to face the other wizard completely, Buffy forgotten.

Dawn wasn't able to see what happened next, for suddenly she was on the ground several feet away from where her four tormentors had been thrown. Hands were on her and she was being pulled a bit painfully to her feet. But the eyes she met when she looked up were not threatening. They were concerned, protective.

She stopped struggling and let the relief crash over her as Remus Lupin hauled her quickly to her feet. "Mr. Lupin!"

He pushed her behind him and stepped forward to fully face the four Death Eaters who had recovered from whatever spell he had hit them with. "Run, Dawn!"

She didn't have to be told twice.

---

---

It had been like fighting Glory. He wasn't strong, no, he was probably no stronger than any normal person. But he was fast. Unnaturally fast. He slid and slithered out of her reach and something she couldn't see had struck her back. Hard. A demon, a vampire, a hell-goddess, these things were physical, these things she could fight. But this was magic. The invisible and intangible. It was almost unfightable.

Even so, Buffy Summers still gave a good fight. She never stopped trying, even when she saw the damage she was inflicting was minimal at best. She was strong and she knew that if it was between her and this man without his wand that she would eventually triumph. But eventually never came for her. For his wand came back to him.

The moment Buffy saw the delicate, ornately carved stick of wood glide into Voldemort's waiting hand, she knew her fight was doomed. Even so, she kept going, rearranging her goals to first and foremost separate him from the stick again and if possible break it. But it was a futile goal. She never got close. And in a few short moves and only two muttered spells from him, she was on the ground, backed against the ice cold marble of a grave marker with a point of a wand in her face.

In that moment, Buffy the vampire Slayer gave up. She stopped fighting. She sat against that marker and waited, accepting her fate with a twinge of almost gratefulness. She was almost relieved. Relieved that she wouldn't have to go on, wouldn't have to do it anymore. And the only thing that kept her from fully embracing the gift the wizard had to offer her was the fact that her friends and sister were still in very real danger. But even with that fact hanging over her, Buffy saw no escape. That is, until the silver bolt of light.

Voldemort looked away. Buffy used the marker to push herself out and under from the wand. She was on her feet in an instant, in time to look up and see the determined warrior that had come to her rescue in the form of an old, odd man.

The Headmaster of Dog Shorts or whatever regarded Voldemort in a way that actually gave Buffy goose bumps. It wasn't a mean or scary look or anything. It was a calm, serious expression, but there was something in the very casualness of it, something in the air that sent a shiver down Buffy's spine. And she was at once very excited that she was on the old man's side.

"Hello, Tom," Dumbledore greeted Voldemort very cordially.

Voldemort was, however, not so cordial when he hissed back, "Dumbledore."

Dumbledore's gaze ticked over to meet Buffy's gawking gaze. He gave her a very respect-filled nod. "Miss Summers, go, help your family."

Only at that moment did Buffy realize she had been standing not five feet from Voldemort out in the open completely defenseless just watching the whole confrontation between Voldemort and Dumbledore like she was some kind of tourist at Disneyland. She felt instantly really stupid and quickly gathered up her senses before nodding at Dumbledore her understanding. She turned to see that Dawn was actually close by, running from the point in the graveyard where Sirius and James's friend was fighting a really ginormously big guy and the bitchy witch woman. Dawn headed away from them at a rate much faster than Buffy herself had ever seen her move, off deeper into the graveyard without a second look. Two other men were hot on her heals, one older man with a bloody nose and one scary-looking man with wild gray hair. It looked as though Dawn was moving much faster than they, though, so Buffy knew she would be safe enough for another five minutes while she checked on the others.

Buffy spotted Giles laying on the ground unconscious off near one of the mausoleums. Buffy decided to leave him. Even though her mentor was unconscious, he was probably the most well off of all of her friends and family at that moment. Unless, of course, he was dead, which was a possibility Buffy didn't even want to consider.

Spike was having a rougher time of it. Though one of the Death Eaters was lying very still a few feet from where they had been fighting, Spike had very clearly lost his battle, not that she was surprised when she took into account his chipped status. The striking blond man and another disgustingly hot guy were seeming to amuse themselves by torturing Spike. They were saying things to him, too, but she was too far away to hear.

Buffy moved to go and help Spike, but a loud shout stopped her. She turned to see Xander diving from behind one gravestone to the next, just one step ahead of two men slowly demolishing his cover. They were both laughing, seemingly enjoying themselves.

Buffy rolled her eyes at the immense stupidity of the two Death Eaters before stealthily coming up from behind them. Without them ever knowing she was there until it was too late, Buffy literally grabbed the two men and clonked their heads together hard enough to cause unconsciousness. She started to turn to help Xander up to his feet, then paused and, thinking the better of it, stooped over to grab the two stupid Death Eaters wands from their hands. In one smooth motion, she snapped the wands in half, tossing the pieces over her shoulder.

Buffy hurried over to where Xander was getting shakily to his feet. She gave her friend a quick once over, noticing with a grimace that he was heavily battered. There were scrapes and abrasions littered around his head and arms. In more than one of the cuts on his arms she could see the glint of small bits of a gravel-like substance she guessed had come from the exploding headstones. He also had a very red, bleeding knot on the side of his head which looked well concussed. "Xander, are you all right?" she asked anyways, hoping he was lucid enough to answer her.

The knock to the head must not have been as bad as it looked, for he looked at her quite coherently and nodded. "I'm fine. Just winded."

Buffy was about to argue with him due to the amount of blood that seemed to be dripping from his head when a mausoleum from over where Dumbledore was having it out with Voldemort literally exploded. Buffy grabbed Xander and threw him behind the shelter of a surviving headstone, shielding him with her own body from the bits of stone the rained down around him.

When it was over Buffy released Xander and took a moment to catch her breath. "So," she panted peaking up over the headstone they were behind to make sure Dumbledore was still alive, "this is bad."

"We've survived worse," Xander quipped next to her as she spotted the old man still going strong. She then looked over at Xander, who was sporting a sardonic grin. He shrugged. "Nothing seems to come to mind…"

"You're a man-witch," Buffy pointed out to her friend, "you do something about it."

Xander thought this over for a moment before a look of resolve came over him. He nodded once. "Right."

Then Xander grabbed a chunk of marble laying beside him, got up, took aim, and let it fly. It hit the blond man torturing Spike dead on. Buffy smirked as she watched the guy go down, much to the bewilderment of his buddy there with him. "Not what I had in mind, but…"

"Whatever works," Xander muttered before using the gravestone they were behind to push himself to his feet.

Buffy got up to, nodding towards the eerily quiet end of the graveyard her sister had disappeared to. "Let's go find Dawn."

Xander nodded and added, " And Anya."

---

---

Anya ran as fast as she could, but it didn't seem to be fast enough. Her lungs were burning and she knew she couldn't go on like she was for much longer. Rabastan was still keeping pace though, which surprised Anya, for she knew the signs of Azkaban when she saw them.

She was so annoyed, with herself and with the world. If anyone had told her fifteen years ago that she would one day be running and hiding from stupid Rabastan Lestrange, she would have laughed. Cackled, even. She had been acquainted with few Death Eaters and been heavily involved with even less. The Lestranges had been a few of the ones she had worked with. Rodolphus the hot-head, Bellatrix the insane (and that was _before_ Azkaban), and Rabastan the immensely dim-witted. For some reason all those years ago, to Anya's unending frustration, Rabastan had become a little obsessed with Voldemort's demon ally. And though she had never given him any reason to hope for anything other than a derisive sneer, she had been powerless to stop him.

She threw herself behind a monument as a loud boom echoed from back where the others were battling on. She heard Rabastan slow a few paces behind her, then stop. "Come now, Anyanka. Come and talk to an old friend."

"When were we ever friends, Rabastan?" Anya called from her hiding place with a small forced laugh. "As I remember it, you were the slow stupid little boy, overshadowed by the greatness of your brother, of your sister-in-law. You could never keep up, no matter what you did. Pathetic excuse for a Dark wizard."

She really didn't know why she said that. It was true enough, that was for sure. Rabastan had always been the younger and meeker of the two brothers. But as pathetic a wizard he was, he was ten times the witch Anya was in her current condition. Maybe she had just excepted that she would die and had decided to go out with a bang. Who knew? But she really hated that Rabastan's stupid infatuation with her had carried over this long.

But instead of completely angering him, which she did to a certain degree, Anya was pleased to hear the tiniest bit of uncertainty creep into his voice when Rabastan spoke next. "I spent fourteen years in Azkaban, Anyanka," he growled proudly.

"You're proud?" Anya asked, turning so she could peek out at the wizard around the statue. He was very uncertain. He was a good five yards away and still as a statue as he took partial cover behind his own great big marble angel. "Only means you got caught."

Rabastan's mouth twitched a bit at this, just as she remembered it used to. It had always been a sign of doubt in the young boy. She hoped it still translated as that in this older man. "I suffered fourteen years for our Lord."

Anya snorted derisively. "Your Lord," she repeated in a mocking tone. "You sound like Bellatrix. Admit it, Rabastan. It was their plan, their idea. You just followed on their coattails once again."

But at last she pushed too far. Rabastan's gaze locked on her as his eyes narrowed. "And where have you been these past years, Anyanka? A human? Pathetic, just like us."

"Do you really believe that because I'm human I am stripped of my powers?"

"If that's true…why do you hide?"

She hesitated, then cocked her head so that a little more of her face was visible to him from behind the statue. "Perhaps I like to toy with the little mouse…before I pounce."

He seemed to buy it for a moment. At least enough to make him gulp and his hand waver. But then he straightened and his gaze turned more fierce. "I don't believe you, Anyanka. I saw how you shake."

"Is that why you came for me?" Anya asked, trying to buy time. "I must admit, I thought you would be more than excited at the chance of settling accounts with William the Bloody. Rodolphus and Lucius certainly seemed to be."

At the mention of Spike, Rabastan's nose wrinkled in disgust. "They can take care of the blood-sucker. I'm here to settle accounts with you."

"Settle accounts with me?" Anya repeated. She examined the wizard before her more closely, then decided to take a gamble. Slowly, slinkingly, she emerged from behind the monument. She smiled lazily as she took a few steps closer to Rabastan, then stopped and raised an eyebrow. "I must confess…I didn't know we had accounts to settle. Face it, Rabastan. You're a third-rate wizard in a dangerous game. You'll never be anything more."

It worked. His wand arm wavered even more and he shifted uncomfortably. "Stop where you are, Anyanka," he said in a shaky voice.

Anya's smile widened and she looked at Rabastan from hooded eyes as she took another deliberate step closer. "Do you really think you are ready for the likes of me, Rabastan? I taught you the little you know."

Suddenly, Xander and Buffy appeared from out of nowhere.

"Anya!" Xander shouted, distracting Rabastan.

Anya took the opportunity and quickly raised her wand. "_Petrificus Totalus_!"

Once Rabastan was down, Buffy was quick to grab his wand and snap it.

"Thanks," Anya breathed in relief as she slumped over, heart thumping wildly.

"I thought you taught him the little he knew," Buffy said, shooting Anya a confused look.

"Oh, yeah, total bluff," Anya panted out as she wrung her hands.

The Slayer smiled for a moment, before growing serious again. "Did you see Dawn?" she asked.

Anya shook her head. "No, but I think I heard her. This way"

Buffy nodded, then glanced at Xander. "Xander, stay here…or, well, not here with the Death Eater, but somewhere safe. Anya, I'll need you and your stick."

"I can't do much," the former demon protested, not really wanting to do anything more.

Buffy gave her a look. "You're doing a lot."

Anya sighed than, with one forlorn look at Xander, who was already disregarding Buffy's orders and heading back towards the main fight, she followed Buffy towards where she'd heard little Dawn. It didn't take long for them to find her. She was up a tree, literally. Antonin Dolohov and Fenrir Greyback where below, toying with her, enjoying the little yelps of fright she was making.

Anya didn't care anymore. She was too tired and too angry to be playing games whether Albus Dumbledore was in town or not. She would have done it to Lestrange if she'd actually taken the two seconds to think about and she had always really hated Greyback for what he did to the children of the world. Plus, she needed to do something big, something that would hopefully scare Dolohov enough so that they wouldn't have to deal with them. And she was only able to do a few really big spells. So she raised her wand and uttered the first of those three that came to her mind.

"_Avada Kedavra!_"

The rush of green light hit Fenrir Greyback square in the back, not even giving him enough time to turn around.

Anya stopped dead in a dueling stance, whirling her wand back around to train it on Dolohov.

"_Avada Kedavra!_" she shouted a second time.

Dolohov was ready for it and easily ducked behind a nearby tree.

Dawn screamed and Buffy shouted as the tree splintered violently. When the air cleared, Dolohov was gone, probably Apparated away as Anya had hoped he would.

Buffy looked over at Anya with wide, disbelieving eyes. "What did you do?"

Anya sighed then nodded at where Greyback's corpse had fallen. "He's dead."

"Anya!" Buffy shouted in protest.

Anya rolled her eyes. "He was a werewolf, Buffy! Two more seconds, and who knows what he would have done to Dawn! Get over it."

She was well aware of the looks the two Summers girls were giving her as she turned and stalked back towards the main site of the battle. And as the coldness of the Dark Arts settled back into her blood after so long an absence, she almost couldn't help but agree with them.

---

---

Tara gasped as she felt a strange sort of icy wave of darkness come from a direction further within the graveyard. The feel of Darkness was coming from all over tonight as more and more Dark magic was used by Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters in this battle, but this felt different. Whatever its purpose had been, it was carried out. And something, or rather someone, had been killed.

"What was that?" she whispered, more to herself than to her girlfriend.

Willow shrugged, too involved in what she was doing to even take notice of the Dark wave. "Don't know, don't care."

Tara licked her lips and glanced at her lover. She had long given up trying to keep Willow under control. The redheaded witch was almost smiling, almost like she was having fun trading spells, and hexes with the two Death Eaters a little ways away.

Tara sighed and looked down, unable to look up at Willow for fear of feeling the same Dark energy hovering around her love's aura. She had known it was there for so long. Since before Buffy had died, if she were truly honest with herself. But she had been trying to deny for so long, trying to convince herself it wasn't possible. But she could no longer deny it as she sat there, surrounded by the most evil of wizards, many of whose auras were tainted with the same energy that was beginning to taint Willow's. Willow was playing more and more with black magic, and there wasn't an end in sight.

She looked up as she heard a loud popping sound, wondering what strange spell the wizards had thrown at Willow this time. But none came. The pop was followed by another. And then a third. After the fourth pop, The spells being fired at her and Willow stopped.

Tara glanced up to see a frowning Willow. "They're going away," the redhead muttered, almost disappointedly.

Tara pushed herself up on her feet, trying to keep her weight off of her left ankle, which had completely given out earlier when she had landed on it wrong. She glanced around. The Death Eaters were, indeed, slowly disappearing. She watched as the blond man that had been torturing spike until a rock to the temple had disrupted him, clambered over to an unconscious Death Eater, then vanish into thin air with a popping sound.

Tara glanced over at Willow uncertainly. "Does this mean we're winning?"

Willow looked at Tara, then indicated where Giles and Spike were both lying motionless. "Define winning."

Tara shivered at the chilling silence that followed. She saw that a ways away, Mr. Lupin's foes had vanished, leaving him to go to Giles's aid. Other than that, they appeared alone.

"Do you see Mr. Dumbledore anywhere?" Tara asked as she glanced around uncertainly. Mr. Dumbledore had been keeping Voldemort at bay, though Tara didn't see any sign of the two at all.

Willow shrugged and took a few steps out into the open. "I don't--"

Tara didn't hear the rest of whatever Willow was going to say. For the redhead suddenly screamed in pain as she raised up off the ground, a dark cloud forming around her. With a similar popping sound as the ones before, Voldemort appeared beside Willow.

"Willow!" Tara called out as she limped a few steps towards the redhead, raising her hand to lash out against Voldemort.

He barely had to look at her before Tara was also floating in the air, although unlike Willow she was upside down.

"I know you…" Voldemort murmured as he took a step closer to Willow.

Whatever was causing Willow to scream like she was stopped, for her screams died down too. Tara's relief was short lived as she watched Voldemort cock his head and regard Willow in fascination.

"You have such darkness in you, little one," Voldemort whispered in a seductive tone. "You remind me of myself at your age. Surely you feel my magic calling to yours. Join me. I can show you the wonders of magic unlike anyone else on this feeble planet."

To Tara's everlasting relief, Willow screwed up her face in disgust. "I am not dark!" the redhead shouted defiantly.

The Dark Lord cocked and eyebrow and smiled knowingly as he watched Willow struggle in the air. "You truly believe that?"

"Of course," Willow answered huffily as she twisted against her invisible binds.

"You must know that which lies within you," Voldemort said as he raised one hand towards Willow. "That which you've brought into yourself."

Then he extended one long, slender white finger and touched the pad to Willow's nose.

Willow's eyes unfocused and she almost seemed to look within herself. She didn't scream. Whatever he did to her, it wasn't painful. But all the color left her, until she was almost as pale as he was. And she began to sweat. And she struggled, oh, did she struggle. Trying desperately to get away from something unseen. Then her eyes went completely black, as did her hair. And spider veins broke out all over her, black as midnight. And she started hyperventilating.

"Tom!"

Voldemort looked in the direction of Dumbledore's shout, then frowned. Whatever was holding Willow and Tara up faded and both the witches hit the ground hard.

"I will be back for you, Little Willow."

Then he was gone. They all were.

---

---

The graveyard was completely and utterly devastated, wrecked beyond repair. Maybe six headstones remained untouched as far as she could see and more than one mausoleum had suffered catastrophic damage. All Buffy Summers knew at that moment was one thing: she couldn't pay for it.

"Willow!" Tara shouted somewhere off to Buffy's left as she pulled herself towards her girlfriend with her hands.

Buffy frowned as she watched this, hoping that Tara's legs weren't too badly hurt, though it was almost certain by this display that something was wrong. Willow was lying on the ground, clammy-looking and shivering as she stared off into space.

To her right, Xander had finally collapsed to the ground from the blood loss. Buffy was impressed with her friend, as he had gone on much longer than he should have been physically able to go. He sat on the ground, looking around at the devastation dimly as he pressed a hand against his bleeding head.

In front of them, a very stiff and uncomfortable looking Anya looked around then headed off towards a destroyed mausoleum.

Buffy sagged heavily against the side of one of the few remaining headstones as Dawn came up to her. The younger girl sat down beside her sister, though far enough away to be in her own space.

"Remus, go get James, Lily, and Sirius," Dumbledore said in a soft tone. "Quickly."

Without a word, Remus disappeared. Buffy didn't even blink.

"Is it over?" Dawn asked meekly as she hugged her knees close and began to rock back and forth in a tense little ball.

Then just as suddenly, Remus reappeared, with James, Lily, and Sirius at his side.

James took everything in quickly with one glance before shouting, "Oh, my god!"

"Is it over?" Dawn repeated in a voice so small it was almost a whisper as she stared out at the vast nothing in front of her. "Are they gone?"

Without a word, Lily was the one that went to her. She ran a gentle hand along Dawn's hairline and murmured, "For now, young one."

Dawn didn't reply. Instead she burst into tears. Lily didn't say anything else, and instead gathered the sobbing girl into her arms and began to rock her back and forth gently, humming in her ear.

"Merlin, Remus," Buffy heard Sirius growl as he knelt between her and Xander, "how many were there?"

"Twelve, plus Voldemort," came Remus's reply. Then Giles moaned, which was a very good thing since it indicated that Giles was alive. Remus was the one to go to him.

"Somebody help!" Tara suddenly screamed. "There's something wrong with her!"

Buffy looked over to see that Willow looked to be in the middle of seizure, so yes, something was definitely wrong with her. Dumbledore himself went over and calmed both Willow and Tara with the wave of a wand.

"Can everyone at least move?" Sirius asked, a sour tone to his voice.

"Well, I think I'm moving," Xander mumbled. "I don't really have much feeling in any of my limbs, but they're moving."

"Where's Spike?" Dawn sniffled as she looked around groggily from the comfort of Lily's arms.

"He's over here!" James called as he rushed over to where Anya was trying to rouse a lifeless Spike. "He's unconscious."

"Is he breathing?" Sirius called to James, an edge of worry to his voice. James looked up, sending Sirius an odd look. Sirius then looked over at Buffy, who was just giving him a '_duh_' look. Sirius cleared his throat and nodded, then turned back to James. "Right. Ridiculous question. Sorry."

Whatever quips were going to follow this, presumably by Xander and James, were cut off as the wailing of many sirens started to come from the distance. Buffy sighed, knowing that the good old Sunnydale PD was coming, just in the knick of time to be a nuisance. "We've got to get out of here."

"Back to the house," Tara added, as if there were going to be any confusion about that.

"I don't think I can make the house," Xander mumbled as he pressed his hand harder against his bleeding head.

Dumbledore looked up at James, Lily, Sirius, and Remus and simply said, "Take them."

Then, before Buffy could even ask him what he meant by this, Dumbledore had vanished into thin air, taking Willow and Tara with him.

"Well, at least we're good for something," James muttered as he hiked Spike up onto his shoulder then grabbed Anya around the waist. Buffy blinked and they were gone.

A sound came from behind her and Buffy turned to see that Willow and Lily were no longer behind her. Buffy was starting to worry, then thought better of it when she realized that she was too tired to worry. Besides, she trusted Sirius, James, and Lily and Dumbledore had saved her life.

"I…I don't think…" Giles half-moaned as Remus Lupin pulled him into a sitting position.

"It's fine, Giles," Remus said as he crouched down next to Giles, letting him lean on him heavily. "Here."

"Thank you, Lupin," Giles mumbled before they, too, disappeared with a popping sound.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asked as Sirius came closer to her and Xander.

"It's called Apparating," Sirius explained as he held a hand out to her. "It's like teleportation."

"Whatever," Buffy mumbled as she stepped close to Sirius so that he could more easily wrap an arm around her waist Just take me home."

"Hold on tight," Sirius whispered.

Buffy and Xander, too tired to do anything else, complied. And the demolished graveyard disappeared around them, five minutes before a baffled Sunnydale police department would arrive.


End file.
